New Jersey's Newark schools open but some boycott
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Organizers of a boycott of Newark schools on the first day of classes Thursday claimed success, but the school superintendent said it didn't appear many parents kept their children home in protest of her new enrollment system that is the target of a federal civil rights complaint.
Known as One Newark, the new system was designed to increase school choice and build more equity into school assignments. But many say it creates transportation headaches and doesn't result in their children attending better schools.
Neither side had the numbers Thursday on how many students boycotted on a day marked by both celebration and protest of education in New Jersey's largest school district, with 43,000 students.
School superintendent Cami Anderson, heralding improvements in some of the city's schools, said she didn't notice high levels of absenteeism in the half-dozen stops she made at schools as they opened.
Organizers said most boycotters kept their children at home but they expected more students would attend the so-called Freedom Schools, set up as makeshift alternatives and staffed by retired teachers, during the course of the boycott, expected to last at least until next week.
At Peshine Avenue School, some parents and caregivers dropping off students in the morning morning expressed frustration with the new system.
"I really wanted a different school for them," said Lydia Villars as she dropped off two grandsons and a niece. "Things are very bad right now."
The children used to attend a school within walking distance from their home, but Villars said she now has to drive them several miles to a school that was not one of her top choices.
Other caregivers told of taking multiple buses and having the children scattered at multiple schools.
"What she did to the school system is messed up," said Thelma Gordon, referring to Anderson, who greeted children at Peshine, where teal and silver balloons floated around school entrances.
Gordon said her three grandchildren were placed in three schools, including Peshine. On a typical morning, she said, she'll have to take three buses to get them to their classes.
Anderson said the problem is one of supply and demand. She said she understands that adults are upset when they cannot get their children into the city's best schools. Only about 20 schools out of 100 in the city are considered desirable, she said.
But, she said, One Newark is simpler than the old system, where some parents waited in long lines to try to get their children registered in the most desired schools. The new system asked families to give priorities for which New Jersey's Newark schools open but some boycott - SFGate: