Broad Foundation Alert | Could State-Run ‘Achievement School District’ Be Last Resort for Failing Schools?

NJ Spotlight | Could State-Run ‘Achievement School District’ Be Last Resort for Failing Schools?:

Could State-Run ‘Achievement School District’ Be Last Resort for Failing Schools?

Grant application to Broad Foundation sheds light on Cerf’s idea for lowest-performing schools

 print | email | share

By John Mooney, August 2, 2012 in Education |Post a Comment

Credit: Governor's Office/Tim Larsen

Education Commissioner Chris Cerf is mulling an "Achievement School District" for failing schools.

The Christie administration is weighing the idea of creating a separate state-run “achievement school district” that would be comprised of New Jersey’s very lowest-performing schools, complete with vast new powers in controlling personnel and programs.

The proposal was part of a $7.6 million grant application to the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation made last February, a proposal that never moved to full fruition after the foundation approved a smaller amount, officials now say.

But it will nonetheless be at least part of a broader study of last-resort options for schools that is being conducted by an outside national organization, officials said