Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week
Local Control: In New Jersey, It's Not For "Them"
Bob Braun breaks an amazing story, once again showing Newark's public schools administration is out of control:A parent leader who criticized the “One Newark” plan pushed by state school superintendent Cami Anderson was arrested yesterday on charges he assaulted a central office administrator. Daryn Martin, president of the Parent Teacher Organization at the Ivy Hill School, was charged with ”agg
FEB 03
State-Run Newark Schools Blow Snow Closings Again
Just received this via email from a teacher in the Newark Public Schools:We got texts from our dcs saying that school was closed at 7:39.This means that she [State Superintendent Cami Anderson] waited until 7 or later to make the call. Kids and teachers were already in schools when they got the message. This is either incompetence or payback for our resistance to her. Either way, it's disrespectfu
FEB 02
David Wildstein: Before Bridgegate, Christie's Best Teacher Basher
It looks like a large portion of the pre-Super Bowl commentary this weekend has been reserved for political pundits proclaiming the death of Chris Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign. Poor fellow: here he is, governor of the state hosting the biggest sports spectacle of the year, but forced to keep a low profile because of Friday afternoon’s bombshell:David Wildstein – Christie’s childhood fr
JAN 29
Yes, Reformers, We SHOULD Talk About YOUR Kids' Schools
Last night was a good night for public education in Newark; the same cannot be said for State Superintendent Cami Anderson:The state-appointed Newark school superintendent stormed out of an angry, tumultuous School Advisory Board (SAB) meeting a few hours ago after a parent, infuriated by Cami Anderson’s treatment of the city’s children, asked “Why don’t you want for all brown babies what you wan
JAN 27
Can We Please Have Some Straight Talk About Charters?
UPDATE: I posted this Monday night; on Tuesday morning, NJDOE released its new School Performance Reports, including the report for AUL and Perth Amboy HS. Careful readers will notice many test results for PAHS, but none for AUL.So I ask: where is the proof that AUL is "testing at higher levels"?It was a reformy vortex last week when the Second Annual New Jersey School Choice Summit took
JAN 26
What Our "One Newark" Report Means
Late Thursday, Bruce Baker and I released our analysis of "One Newark," the plan to restructure schools in the state-run district. I'll admit the report is a bit heavy on technical language, but that's as it should be: we wanted to be clear about how we approached the task of evaluating One Newark, and why we reached the conclusions that we did.But I think it will be helpful here to put
JAN 23
Jazzman Extracurricular Activities
Let's get this out of the way:This brief about One Newark -- the controversial plan to restructure the Newark Public Schools -- is coauthored by me. I am one of the authors of the brief. And I'm not Bruce Baker.So there you have it. Frankly, I don't think it's a big deal... but it seems like some others do.I have not been "anonymous" for a good long while; I am pseudonymous. There is a d
JAN 22
Jersey City BOE To Citizens: STFU
Well, isn't this lovely:The Jersey City school board approved a measure this week that significantly curtails when residents can speak at board meetings, an action critics say is an effort to silence them.The changes force all speakers to notify school officials at least one day in advance if they want to make general comments or speak on a specific agenda item. Previously, notice was only require
Charter Schools Are NOT Public Schools: Snow Day Edition
UPDATE: Bob Braun, who is now the best journalist covering Newark, has much more. Read it all, but here's a taste:Newark public schools are open today despite some 12 inches of snow in some parts of the city. The city’s charter schools—whose leaders insist are just as public as conventional public schools—were closed. Apparently the safety of charter school children and teachers is more dear to th