Newark Mayor Cory Booker kicks off first phase of $100M school reform | NJ.com

Newark Mayor Cory Booker kicks off first phase of $100M school reform | NJ.com

Newark Mayor Cory Booker kicks off first phase of $100M school reform

Published: Monday, November 01, 2010, 12:49 PM Updated: Monday, November 01, 2010, 12:50 PM

Jeanette Rundquist/The Star-Ledger
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Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerNewark Mayor Cory Booker speaks with Gov. Christie and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg during the official announcement of a $100 million grant for Newark schools.

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NEWARK — Newark Mayor Cory Booker, School Superintendent Clifford Janey and a host of other Newark leaders this morning kicked off a city-wide community engagement effort designed to start turning around the city's schools, the first step in a $100 million makeover of the troubled school system. Funded by a $100 million gift from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, which is to be matched through donations — Booker said pledges are up to $43 million and counting — the school reform initiative is aimed at turning around a school system that now has a dropout rate near 50 percent.

The first step will be an orchestrated campaign aimed at engaging the community, and reaching out to Newark parents and others to find out what is