Sunday, November 8, 2009

Fresh hope for city kids | APP.com | Asbury Park Press


Fresh hope for city kids APP.com Asbury Park Press:

"We were delighted, though hardly surprised, by Gov.-elect Chris Christie's pledge during an appearance in Newark the day after his election victory that improving urban education would rank behind only reducing taxes and government spending as a priority."

During his most recent editorial board appearance at the Press, there was no topic he spoke more passionately about than providing children in the state's cities with a chance to succeed. As a former prosecutor, he fully understands the social and economic consequences of a failed educational system.

Unlike Gov. Jon Corzine and the New Jersey Education Association, who have insisted that schools in New Jersey and its cities are the envy of the nation, Christie argues improvements in test scores in urban districts aren't coming fast enough, and certainly not commensurate with the billions of dollars that have been poured into city schools — a view shared by growing numbers of community leaders and parents in Newark, Camden and elsewhere.

Christie, like President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, wants to expand the number of charter schools.