| ||||||||||||||||||
NJ Spotlight--Tax Facts: Getting Beyond All the Talk About New Jersey’s Taxes
More taxes, no new taxes, higher taxes, marijuana taxes, corporate taxes, tax relief, and even a new tax structure — it’s definitely an election year in the Garden State
Tax reform is becoming a hot topic in Washington, D.C., as President Donald Trump is looking for Congress to cut both corporate and personal income-tax rates. Similarly, the future of New Jersey tax policy is also expected to become a key issue in Trenton once the state welcomes its next governor early next year.
John Reitmeyer | September 13, 2017
NJ Spotlight--Budget Basics: How New Jersey Spends Your Money
A series that details the fundamentals of New Jersey's budget, as well as its current budget woes
This is the first in a multipart series outlining New Jersey’s fiscal fundamentals, written by Richard F. Keevey, the former budget director and comptroller for New Jersey and currently a senior policy fellow at the School of Planning and Policy at Rutgers University. The idea behind this series is to demystify some of the state’s financial challenges, and put them in context of the broader issues New Jersey faces. It’s also intended as a way to underscore the importance of state government in a year that will see a new governor and a new Legislature chosen by voters.
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/17/09/12/budget-basics-how-new-jersey-spends-your-money/
Richard F. Keevey | September 13, 2017
StarLedger--1 of these 21 teachers will be new N.J. 'Teacher of the Year'
TRENTON -- One teacher from every county has been selected to compete to become New Jersey's next Teacher of the Year.
The teachers of the year for each county, announced Tuesday by the state Department of Education, were selected by panels of administrators, teachers and parents.
"New Jersey has many great teachers, and this award is a tribute to the talent, professionalism, and dedication of these 21 educators to inspire the children they teach," state Education Commissioner Kimberley Harrington said.
Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| Posted September 12, 2017 at 01:10 PM | Updated September 12, 2017 at 10:09 PM
NY Times--After More Than 20 Years, Newark to Regain Control of Its Schools
NEWARK — In 1995, when Marques-Aquil Lewis was in elementary school, the State of New Jersey seized control of the public schools here after a judge warned that “nepotism, cronyism and the like” had precipitated “abysmal” student performances and “failure on a very large scale.”
For more than 20 years, local administrators have had little leverage over the finances or operations of the state’s largest school district. Choices about curriculum and programs were made mostly by a state-appointed superintendent, often an outsider. The city could not override personnel decisions.
Now, Mr. Lewis’s 4-year-old son is in prekindergarten, and things are changing. With the district improving slowly but steadily in recent years, the state board of education is expected on Wednesday to approve a plan that would ultimately give Newark control again over its public schools with their almost $1 billion budget and 55,000 students.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/12/nyregion/20-years-newark-schools-regain-control-baraka.html?_r=0
DAVID W. CHEN| SEPT. 12, 2017
Education Week--How Virtual Reality Is Helping Train New Teachers
Coming out of preservice training, many soon-to-be teachers register the same complaint: They didn't get enough practice managing a classroom.
Researchers at New York's University at Buffalo, in conjunction with a local public charter school and a digital-media company, are working to help ease that transition using virtual reality.
The technology offers a middle ground "between what can happen in the university context and the real classroom," said Lynn Shanahan, an associate professor at the university who is currently working as an administrator at Enterprise Charter School, which serves K-8 students. "It's a safe space because they're practicing not on real kids."
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/09/06/student-teachers-get-real-world-practice-via.html
Liana Loewus| September 5, 2017
