Featuring Candi Peterson, Blogger in Residence
Need proof that the debate over how to improve Newark public schools is going to be hard-fought and contentious? Just look at the dispute over what New Jersey’s largest school system spends on each child’s education.
Gov. Chris Christie has crisscrossed the state quoting a $24,000 per-student figure as he promotes his education reform proposals, led by his plans for overhauling Newark schools with the help of a $100 million gift from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
“How can you fail at $24,000 per student?” Christie said, disparaging the district at an Old Bridge appearance last week. “Go to Newark and see what’s happening, and see
State law does not allow Newark Mayor Cory Booker, left, and Gov. Chris Christie, right, to make decisions on behalf of the Newark school district, which is under state control.TRENTON — Two weeks ago, Gov. Chris Christie and Mayor Cory Booker appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and began a media blitz, proclaiming their pledge to jointly transform Newark’s failing public school system. One problem: State law does not allow for such an effort.
Acting Commissioner of Education Rochelle Hendricks testified today before a joint legislative committee that the state’s school takeover statute — the Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC) — does not authorize gubernatorial or mayoral participation in efforts to reform a district under state control. That responsibility rests squarely on the commissioner of education’s shoulders, the law says.
"No, the state is not relinquishing its authority in the Newark schools," Hendricks said. "The governor is looking for the mayor to do what he said, which is be a mayor
Overview | What is the societal climate for antigay bullying in schools and a recent rash of related student suicides? What, if anything, can be done to make schools safer and more inclusive? In this lesson, students examine and discuss responses to the recent suicides that have occurred amid antigay bullying and complete an optional campaign to foster safety and acceptance at their own school.
Materials | Copies of handouts, including the Bullying in Our School Communityquestionnaire (PDF); resources for creating optional campaigns as described in the Going Further section below
Note to Teacher | This lesson raises sensitive issues regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teenagers, and the article is about the suicides of several young people. As always, please
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner on Tuesday called for a moratorium on new charter and cyber-charter schools, pending an overhaul of a funding system that he said has resulted in serious inequities in what taxpayers pay to finance these public school alternatives.
At a Capitol news conference, Wagner released a "special report" based on a review of 18 charter schools and information from the state Department of Education.
He said the root of the problem is a state law that requires individual school districts to pay a charter-school tuition rate per pupil based on a district's own costs. That results in different
By tying the entrepreneurial activity to a social cause
Sylvie Baldwin has chosen to skip the SAT and the ACT because she feels those numbers can’t represent who she is. Instead, she’s choosing to use the time she’d spend preparing for and taking those exams to lobby legislators to include environmental education in driver’s ed programs. Go Sylvie!
The Bartleby Project is also encouraging students to peacefully opt out of the tests required under NCLB. (Note: The audio in this video is done by robot voices. They’re not super harsh, but
Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.5 million-member American Federation of Teachers, is a central figure in a segment of the new film "Waiting for 'Superman'" that describes teacher unions as a "menace" - a major obstacle to improving schools that are performing poorly.
Given the film's unflattering portrayal of Weingarten, whose union represents Philadelphia teachers, it was good to get to see her and hear her message unedited at Saturday's One Nation Working Together rally in Washington that aimed to shift national priorities toward education, jobs, and peace.
