Data Riddle

Laura Waters February 11, 2011

Earlier this week Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf urged caution in regards to news that cost per pupil in our poorest districts was lower than last

ELC Joins the Education Reform Movement?

Laura Waters February 1, 2011

David Sciarra, Executive Director of Education Law Center, has just put out an“educational blueprint for 2011 driven by the needs of our students.” Dismissing derogatory

Rethinking School Funding

Laura Waters January 28, 2011

We’ll take it on faith that the reporter for this Trenton Times story didn’t write the headline – “School Districts Sitting on Millions.” The bucks

NJ DOE Warns Districts of Potential State Aid Cuts

Laura Waters January 26, 2011

Yut’se Thomas, Acting Assistant Commissioner, writes in a memo to superintendents and business administrators, For purposes of developing your preliminary budgets, districts should make allowances

Quote of the Day

Laura Waters January 13, 2011

Liam Julian at Fordham’s Flypaper blog considers Gov. Christie’s comment during his State of the State speech that “teaching can no longer be the only

It’s Not The Money

Laura Waters January 6, 2011

There’s two big education stories circling today: the NJ Supreme Court’s hearing on whether Gov. Christie’s school aid cuts violated the Constitution, and the most

Proposed Changes to Superintendent Prerequisites

Laura Waters January 4, 2011

The Record reports today that the NJ DOE has drawn up changes to credential requirements for superintendents of “struggling school districts.” Taking a page, perhaps,

Updating the Abbott Canon

Laura Waters January 3, 2011

Here’s a quote from a book review yesterday of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eugene Robinson’s “Disintegration: The Splintering of Black America.” According to reviewer Raymond Arsenault,

NJEA’s Luddism

Laura Waters December 22, 2010

Local school district referenda on school construction often serve as a barometer of the voters’ willingness to support costs of public education. If that truism

It’s a poorly-kept secret in NJ

Laura Waters December 21, 2010

that the Department of Education is understaffed and overwhelmed with tasks as diverse as completing design and construction of a data system capable of linking