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
Opinion
JAMES: Newark Superintendent Roger León Is a Puppet for the Union President and It Has to Stop Now
I started this blog to vent and share my worries about our city in the middle of a pandemic. As I have continued to reflect,
NJ Teachers: You’re Trapped in a System That Sucks Union Dues Out of Your Paychecks
President Will Swaim of the California Policy Center wrote a new year’s letter to CPC subscribers decrying the “legal corruption” by California’s public-sector unions. The letter’s language
COMMENTARY: Was DeVos Really the “Worst Secretary of Education Ever”?
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos resigned last night, citing Wednesday’s putsch at the Capitol, Trump’s incitement of violence, and her concern that “impressionable children are watching all
Coronavirus in the News
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Camden’s District and Charter Schools Collaborate So That More Students Succeed — and It’s Working!
According to a new report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), Bridging the District-Charter Divide to Help More Students Succeed, common enrollment systems—districts and
School Funding Drinking Game: Count Those Proposals!
I curled up in front of CNN on the evening of November 8th, cozied by a glass of wine and presumptions of a Clinton victory.
What’s Wrong With N.J.’s Teacher Pension System? Ask Your Nearest Millennial
A new teacher’s pension is supposed to be a perk. The truth is that for the majority of the nation’s new teachers, what they can
Let’s Avoid “Alternative Facts” When We Talk About School Choice and Charter Schools
Over the weekend, Americans were introduced to a new meme: “alternative facts,” Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway’s awkward rationalization of the president’s reality-challenged worldview. Well, this may be
Fear Not the Four Horsemen: Newark Traditional Schools Are Improving!
Newark Public Schools just announced some news that may startle those who view the expansion of school choice as apocalyptic for children who remain in
Letter from Newark Superintendent Chris Cerf to Newark Teachers Union President John Abeigon
This letter, copied in full below, is from Newark Superintendent Chris Cerf to John Abeigon, President of the Newark Teachers Union. I did not receive
My Take on the Betsy DeVos Hearing: Paging Blanche DuBois
I’ve tried to be open-minded about Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos. Many people I respect view her as a potentially powerful voice for
Guest Post:The Taxpayer-Funded One-Percenters of NJEA
At an August 8, 2016, protest in Trenton organized by New Jersey’s largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), Hetty Rosenstein, state director
White Suburban Parents Protest Educational Rights of Black Urban Parents
Look at this picture. What do you see? A group of (almost all) white suburban people in front of the New Jersey Statehouse protesting the
NJEA Front Office Staff Pensions Are Secure. Regular Teachers? Not so Much.
The New Jersey Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund (TPAF) will be drained dry on June 30th, 2027, about eleven and a half years from now.
Newark Employs More Ineffective Teachers Than Any Other District in New Jersey
On a related note, the Partnership for Educational Justice just released a press release on the status of a motion, HG v. Harrington, pressed by
New Jersey’s Retreat from Teacher Effectiveness Ratings; Out With the New, In With the Old
Charlotte Danielson, the doyenne of teacher evaluations, says that when schools use her highly-regarded rubric to gauge teacher effectiveness, the label of Highly Effective is
Anticipated Confrontation at Tonight’s Camden School Board Meeting Ignores Student and Teacher Needs
“All Camden High alumni should be proud of what is taking place here. It’s for our children. It’s not about us.” That’s Camden County Sheriff
Newsflash: Bruce Baker Analyzes Charter School Expansion and I’m Impressed
I am typically a fierce critic of Professor Bruce Baker but this week I find myself in the delightful position of praising his scholarship. Not
How Hard Is it To Dismiss Ineffective Teachers in Newark?
Analysts at the Fordham Foundation created a rubric for gauging the difficulty of firing ineffective teachers based on these three metrics: online pharmacy fluoxetine no
Latino Parent Voices Are Ignored in Red Bank as NJEA Muffles Expansion Plans
Leaders of the New Jersey Education Association often profess disdain for public charter schools. But how far will they go to stop expansion of a
N.J. Governor-to-Be Phil Murphy Proposes Insolvable/Insolvent Math Problem to NJEA Members
Accept my apology, dear readers, for forgoing my annual rant about the NJEA Convention, which takes place in Atlantic City on Thursday and Friday in
Guest Post: Hoboken Voters Should Elect School Board Members Who Respect Parent Choice
Dear Friends, I’m writing to you, not in my capacity as President of the Board of Trustees of HoLa (Hoboken Dual Language Charter School) but
Newark Parents Fight New Jersey’s Unjust and Immoral Teacher Lay-Off Law
The son of Newark mother Noemi Vazquez is one of 10 plaintiffs in a lawsuit called HG v. Harrington that was filed this week in
Here’s Why Charter Schools Aren’t “Laboratories of Innovation”
John Holland Charter School in Paterson just announced its most recent PARCC scores for 6th graders in language arts: 68.4% received scores indicating either proficiency
