GIVEN EVERYTHING else Governor Christie has done to downsize the influence of the New Jersey Education Association, it is merely a snub. But it's a big one.
For the first time in modern history, the state's top education official won't be speaking at the union's annual convention, which concludes in Atlantic City today. Acting Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks informed union leaders that she won't address them so long as they resist "fundamental change," or until "the NJEA is willing to work with the Christie administration as a true partner in an effort to reward good teachers instead of protecting bad teachers," among other provisos.
It is a foolish, bitter move, a wasted opportunity to directly speak to the very teachers whose on-the-job performance will determine whether any school reforms will ultimately be successful.
Time and again, the governor has shown he isn't interested in a true partner when it comes to school reform. The only education official who actually did partner with the teachers union — former Commissioner Bret Schundler — was publicly