Newark Superintendent Is Advising School Board Members to Lie to the State
Just when you think Newark Public Schools District can’t get any more dysfunctional, another perversion pops up. Example: today Chalkbeat reports that during October’s board
2022 Mid-Terms: Winners Listened to 81% of Parents Who Support School Choice
This is a press release from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Education played a significant role in the 2022 election cycle in America—and
Top New Jersey Officials Demand More Honesty and Less Vomit From Murphy’s Education Department As Student Proficiency Plummets
When someone stands up and says New Jersey schools are #1 I have an immediate reaction to vomit because I know that’s not true. That’s
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TNTP’s “The Irreplaceables”
TNTP, author of the pivotal study called“The Widget Effect,” has a new report out called “The Irreplaceables: Understanding the Real Retention Crisis in America’s Urban
Camden’s Proposed KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy
Violent assaults, drug dealing, gang fights — sounds like a poorly run prison. But that’s what kids in Camden have to contend with, when they
Sunday Leftovers
Education Commissioner Chris Cerf was approved by the NJ Senate Judiciary Committee only 18 months after he started the job. Star-Ledger and NJ Spotlight online
Quote of the Day
Joel Klein in today’s Wall St. Journal: During the eight years I served as chancellor of New York City’s public schools, the naysayers and the
Cerf Getting Grilled by Senate Judiciary Committee
(Acting) NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf is currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee trying, once again, to get confirmed in his post, which he’s held
Why Do NJ Charter Schools Excite So Much Animosity?
Last week, on my blog at WHYY’s Newsworks, I responded to Dr. Diane Ravitch’s rebuttal to NJ Ed. Comm. Cerf’s editorial on charter schools at
ELC Launches Lakewood Investigation
I believe we are doing the right thing. To be candid, our group is 100 percent transparent. It really blows my mind. Maybe I am
What’s A School District’s Responsibility for Off-Campus Student Behavior?
Here’s a quandary for NJ’s school boards: the new Anti-Harassment, Bullying, and Intimidation (HIB) legislation has blurred the line between student behavior on and off
Impact of Recession on School Spending
The Education Intelligence Agency (hat tip: Joanne Jacobs) reports on the impact of the recession on school spending, based on the recent release on the
Sunday Leftovers
On Friday the NJ DOE released its “Taxpayers Guide to Education Spending July 2012.” Unlike other calculations, this per pupil cost algorithm incorporates transportation, special
What Diane Ravitch Needs to Know About NJ’s Charter Schools
On Tuesday, NJ Ed. Comm. Chris Cerf wrote on editorial on charter schools in NJ Spotlight. That afternoon, Dr. Diane Ravitch wrote a rebuttal called
Quote of the Day
Democrats for Education Reform’s Kathleen Nugent, NJ State Director, celebrates the passage of Sen. Teresa Ruiz’s tenure reform bill: online pharmacy buy zofran no prescription
Education Law Center Files OPRA Request for Lakewood
Education Law Center has filed an OPRA request for “detailed documentation about the Lakewood school district’s plan to reconfigure school grade assignments and for academic
Cerf Takes on Charter Opponents
In today’s NJ Spotlight, Ed. Comm. Chris Cerf tries to corral the anti-charter school sentiment in NJ, much of it propagated by proponents of the
Quote of the Day
Economist Arnold Kling points to “education reform activist Bill Costello,” who, in a Boston Herald editorial, writes that “our annual per-pupil spending in 2006 was
Sunday Leftovers
The anti-charter school/Christie/Common Core/NCLB/etc. group, “DEFEAT NJ BULLIES,” is engaging in a feud with AFT President Randi Weingarten. Latest tweet from Ms. Weingarten: @rweingarten: Sorry
Will November Elections Make School Board Seats More Competitive?
Not so much, according to today’s NJ Spotlight. In fact, fewer candidates are filing for spots on boards that chose to move elections to November.
Check out my post today at WHYY’s Newsworks
In the Wall St. Journal this week, Robert Coulson of the Cato Institute writes, America’s public schools have warehoused three million people in jobs that
Tenure Update: Time for a Photo Op?
The Star-Ledger fact-checked Senate President Steve Sweeney’s assertion that Jersey’s new tenure reform legislation “modernizes” tenure but doesn’t eliminate it. In an interview with WNYC’s
Ripped From the Headlines
A leading school labor leader Thursday compared public education to the auto industry and warned about 700 northern Illinois school board members that unless labor
