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NJ Spotlight--State at Beginning of Long Struggle to Purify Drinking Water in NJ Schools DEP says it will be months to get a sense of size of problem, then hard work of remediation remains With more Newark schools found last week to have elevated lead levels in their water, a top state environmental official said the process of identifying and remediating the problem not just in Newark but statewide is sure to be a lengthy one...'
Star Ledger--As PARCC round 2 begins, N.J. hopes to convert teachers into believers Parents who were refusing to let their children participate in New Jersey's new computerized state exams last spring often shared a common refrain. After listing their own concerns about the assessments, such as the amount of time students were spending in test-prep or the cost schools shouldered to upgrade technology, some parents would end with a kicker: Even teachers don't like the tests, they said emphatically. This time around — New Jersey begins 2016 math and English testing in elementary schools on Monday — the state Department of Education is making a concerted effort to win over teachers, pinning its hopes to PARCC data and teacher training it thinks will turn skeptics into believers...'
Education Week--State School Boards Feel New Urgency to Flex Muscles
ESSA seen adding to urgency as others eye policy leverage
State boards of education are seeking to reassert their influence in the advent of the Every Student Succeeds Act, as much of the decision making around standards, assessments, and accountability devolves back from federal to state control...'
NJ Spotlight--State at Beginning of Long Struggle to Purify Drinking Water in NJ Schools
DEP says it will be months to get a sense of size of problem, then hard work of remediation remains
With more Newark schools found last week to have elevated lead levels in their water, a top state environmental official said the process of identifying and remediating the problem not just in Newark but statewide is sure to be a lengthy one.
Daniel Kennedy, the assistant commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the vast majority of New Jersey’s nearly 3,000 public schools now do not fall under the state’s testing requirements. Only about 250 schools with their own water supplies -- typically through wells -- are regulated by the state.
John Mooney | April 4, 2016
Star Ledger--As PARCC round 2 begins, N.J. hopes to convert teachers into believers
Parents who were refusing to let their children participate in New Jersey's new computerized state exams last spring often shared a common refrain.
After listing their own concerns about the assessments, such as the amount of time students were spending in test-prep or the cost schools shouldered to upgrade technology, some parents would end with a kicker: Even teachers don't like the tests, they said emphatically.
This time around — New Jersey begins 2016 math and English testing in elementary schools on Monday — the state Department of Education is making a concerted effort to win over teachers, pinning its hopes to PARCC data and teacher training it thinks will turn skeptics into believers.
"I believe everybody needs to be in the same boat and we all need to be rowing correctly," said Mark Biedron, president of the state Board of Education. "Clearly, we have not been rowing in sync."
Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com |April 04, 2016 at 8:00 AM, updated April 04, 2016 at 8:05 AM
Education Week--State School Boards Feel New Urgency to Flex Muscles
ESSA seen adding to urgency as others eye policy leverage
State boards of education are seeking to reassert their influence in the advent of the Every Student Succeeds Act, as much of the decisionmaking around standards, assessments, and accountability devolves back from federal to state control.
Yet those boards—many of them a blend of retired educators and business leaders who take office by appointment or election, depending on the state—often find themselves squeezed between local boards, state education departments, and legislatures over who's calling the policy shots.
All those entities are expected to vie for a share of the flexibility under a newly revised federal K-12 law, which gives states greater authority to design school- and teacher-accountability systems as they see fit.
It's a volatile moment for power sharing.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/03/30/state-boards-feel-new-urgency-to-flex.html
By Daarel Burnette II| April 4, 2016
