Quality Public Education for All New Jersey Students

 

 
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4-5-18 Education in the News

Star Ledger--Charter schools are expanding to new turf in N.J. and bringing

Deep in South Jersey, on the sprawling grounds of a summer camp surrounded by rolling farmland, Upper Pittsgrove Township is about to have something in common with the state's big cities. 

The Salem County town, marked by cornfields and country roads, will soon play host to a charter school -- perhaps the most visible sign yet of the controversial and far-reaching expansion of school choice in New Jersey.

"It's uncharted territory," said Peter Koza, superintendent of the nearby Upper Deerfield School District. 

http://www.nj.com/education/2018/04/a_charter_school_in_farm_country_why_its_happening.html#incart_river_index

Adam Clark| Updated 7:05 AM; Posted 7:00 AM

 

Star Ledger--Facing anger and tears at town hall, Phil Murphy vows to fix N.J.'s school funding woes

The town hall crowd showed up Wednesday night in Willingboro to lambaste Gov. Phil Murphy over how New Jersey will dole out aid to public schools in his first state budget proposal.  

There was worry and anger. Some told Murphy he had let them down. One woman cried, and her 7-year-old son asked the Democratic governor why he likes "Jersey City more" than his south Jersey school district. 

Murphy's response was immediate. 

"I'm mad as heck, and I want to change this, too," Murphy said during the event at a recreational center.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2018/04/phil_murphy_promises_parents_he_will_fix_njs_school_funding_problem.html#incart_river_index

Brent Johnson| Updated 6:15 AM; Posted 6:15 AM

 

Jersey Journal--Group appeals ruling in lawsuit over taxpayer-funded teachers union gigs

A conservative watchdog, seeking to end Jersey City school district's policy of allowing two teachers to work full time as union officials, is appealing a judge's ruling from October that dismissed its lawsuit against the district.

The Goldwater Institute, which filed the initial complaint on behalf of New Jersey residents Moshe Rozenblit and Qwon Kyu Rim, says in its April 2 appellate brief that a lower-court judge erred when he ruled the matter did not warrant a trial.

That judge, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Barry P. Sarkisian, said in his Oct. 31 ruling that the Goldwater Institute would not have been able to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. The group's appeal says that high standard is not the one it needs to meet.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2018/04/group_appeals_ruling_in_lawsuit_over_taxpayer_fund.html#incart_river_index

Terrence T. McDonald| Updated Apr 4, 1:33 PM; Posted Apr 4, 12:45 PM

 

Washington Post--Education Secretary Betsy DeVos asked whether leakers could be prosecuted, internal report shows

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos asked her department’s Office of Inspector General whether grounds existed to prosecute employees who leaked budget data to The Washington Post and unclassified information to Politico, according to an internal department report.

The response: It would be challenging, because the department has “little” written policy or guidance on how employees are supposed to handle information.

“While evaluating the . . . incidents of alleged unauthorized releases of non-public information, we identified challenges to criminal prosecution or taking significant administrative actions against individuals responsible for the release of this type of information,” the report said.

The author of the report, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Aaron R. Jordan, recommended the department establish policies to address unauthorized release of information and that it train employees on the protection and marking of “controlled unclassified information.” 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/04/04/education-secretary-betsy-devos-asked-if-leakers-could-be-prosecuted-internal-report-shows/?utm_term=.2d69783a7bef

Valerie Strauss April 4 at 7:30 PM

 

NPR--How To Find A School Your Kids Will Love (And That You Will, Too)

"Creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status." That's one of the many quotes that has made Sir Ken Robinson's 2006 lecture on rethinking the nation's schools become one of the most popular TED talks — with more than 50 million views.

Over the past two decades, Robinson, an author, consultant and former education professor, has argued, among other things, that dance might be more important than math (though, he admits, both are important). And that our system of education is more like a fast food chain — robotic, formalized and industrial.

In his new book, You, Your Child, and School: Navigate Your Way to the Best Education, Robinson takes his ideas about what a school should be and translates them into specific things parents can look for. https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/03/14/592860859/how-to-find-a-school-your-kids-will-love-and-that-you-will-too

Elissa Nadworny| March 14, 20186:02 AM ET

 

Education Week--DeVos Meets With Supporters, Critics of Discipline Rules as GAO Says Racial Disparities Persist

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos met with supporters and critics of an Obama-era directive on school discipline Wednesday as she considers whether to rescind the document.

That 2014 civil rights guidance—jointly issued by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice—put schools on notice that they may be found in violation of federal civil rights laws if they enforce intentially discriminatory rules or if their policies lead to disproportionately higher rates of discipline for students in one racial group, even if those policies were written without discriminatory intent.

The meetings happened on the same day the Government Accountability Office released an investigation that found that black students are consistently disciplined at higher rates than their peers. While black students represented 15.5 percent of public school students in 2013-14, they made up 39 percent of students suspended, according to the most recent federal data analyzed in the report.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rulesforengagement/2018/04/devos_critics_of_school_discipline_guidance_GAO_racial_disparities.html

Evie Blad and Alyson Klein|April 4, 2018 6:07 PM