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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Cerf Rolls Out Reform Plans for Camden, NJ « Diane Ravitch's blog

Cerf Rolls Out Reform Plans for Camden, NJ « Diane Ravitch's blog:


Cerf Rolls Out Reform Plans for Camden, NJ

You have heard this from me before, and you’ll hear it again. People who are in charge of public schools are placed there to lead them. They are there to help them get better. They are appointed or elected to solve problems, not to abandon public schools.
When they take charge, they are supposed to be (in Phillip Schlecty’s term), moral and intellectual leaders of the public schools.
They are not appointed or elected to hand off their responsibility to the private sector. That is not leadership. That is an abandonment of responsibility. That is a clear indicator of leaders who lack the knowledge to improve schools and who lack the moral sense required of those in public office.
Yet this is the plan for Camden, New Jersey. Ten schools will close now, undoubtedly more later. The New