Newark mayoral candidate Ras Baraka outlines education plan
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| Mayoral candidate Ras Baraka, standing outside Weequahic High School in Newark in December, unveiled his blueprint for improving Newark public schools. (Frances Micklow/The Star-Ledger) |
NEWARK — Positioning himself as the Education Mayor, Newark councilman and mayoral candidate Ras Baraka today detailed a broad plan for the city’s schools, including keeping neighborhood schools open, strengthening pre-school programs and fighting for the return of local control.
Baraka, a public school principal who is on leave as he campaigns for the May election, focused on collaboration and community engagement, telling his audience at Rutgers-Newark that he would bring every segment of the city together to improve education.
“One thing I’m sure of is no one can do this by themselves,” Baraka told a supportive crowd at a campaign event that drew some 150 people. “A fundamental piece of our plan is the inclusion of all institutions in the community, all the stakeholders in the community. Everyone who has a stake has to be involved.”
Baraka’s 12-page blueprint offers a comprehensive approach to fixing the state’s largest school district, which is under state control. His vision serves as an alternative to state Superintendent Cami Anderson’s reorganization, which has been widely criticized.
Unveiled in December, Anderson’s plan calls for moving, consolidating or closing about one-quarter of the district’s schools and turning four neighborhood facilities over to charter schools.
Regaining local control of the district is the top priority, Baraka said.
“The state has had control for 19 years, and everything that has happened falls squarely on the shoulders of those in Trenton,” he said. “We need local control of the school board so we can get the job done ourselves.”
Baraka wants to create community-based afterschool programs, build a network of parents from charter and district schools, integrate Spanish, Portuguese and Creole languages into all school activities and provide incentives for teachers to work in Newark.
The candidate made several references to the Newark Global Village School Zone, which he was part of as principal of Central High School. That community-based network was built on partnerships with local universities, nonprofit corporations and cultural institutions like the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
“The best practices we (studied) had nothing to do with closing schools or firing staff or co-location or any of that,” he said in
