Camden Opens New Chapter in Christie Education Reform Agenda

May 17, 2012

City to be first test of Urban Hope Act, as district grapples with its own low performance
By John Mooney

What with its size and Facebook fortune, Newark gets all the press. But Camden is quickly becoming ground zero south for the Christie administration’s push for education reform.

This week, the district will be the first to seek proposals from nonprofit organizations — with potential for-profit partners — to build and run new schools in the city under the recently enacted Urban Hope Act.

Meanwhile, the state continues to prepare for some sweeping changes in the district itself, with 23 of the 28 schools so low performing as to be deemed Priority Schools, and subject to overhauls of their staff, leadership and even curriculum.

All this comes as the local Board of Education on Tuesday completed the buyout of superintendent Bessie Lefra Young after five years on the job, and announced it would launch a search for a new leader.

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Hearings on Teacher Tenure Reform Delayed — For Now

May 16, 2012

Assembly and Senate committees wary to move as Christie warns he will veto ‘water-downed’ bill

By John Mooney

The drama over a teacher tenure reform in New Jersey continues to twist and turn, as legislators jockey for position and Gov. Chris Christie makes clear his opinion, if not his precise intentions.

Much of the latest guessing arose this week with the sudden postponement of education committee meetings on Monday in both the Senate and Assembly.

Each were expected to take up their respective versions of bills that would revamp how teachers gain and lose tenure protections, but the committee chairmen indicated yesterday they were not quite ready to take the next step.

Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex), chairwoman of the state’s Senate education committee, said she was still working through the final details of her bill that is expected to be the best chance for bipartisan consensus on tenure reform.

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Teacher Appreciation — More Than Just a Week?

May 14, 2012

Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers

There have been countless wonderful tributes to teachers over the course of this Teacher Appreciation Week. Like many others who have given shout outs to teachers this week — I’ve thought of Mr. Swift and Ms. Gaffney — teachers who made a huge difference in my life. Teachers deserve these accolades and more.

There is nothing nobler than to be a teacher — it is an ongoing act of service that empowers our children and shapes our future. In return, the primary things teachers request are the tools, time and trust they need to do their jobs.

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Perth Amboy superintendent battle might head to court

May 10, 2012

Written by Suzanne Russell

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Meanwhile, the union representing teachers and other staff members considered taking a no-confidence vote regarding the superintendent, who was brought into the district before the start of the school year to lead reform in the special-needs district of about 10,000 students. But she has met opposition from some board members and staff.

An emergency meeting of the union leadership was called on Wednesday to consider all options after Caffrey was reinstated as superintendent, said Donna Chiera, president of Perth Amboy Federation/AFT.

Chiera said the first question that was asked was whether the leadership had confidence in the superintendent.

“The majority said they did not have confidence in the superintendent,” Chiera said, adding that although some advocated for a no-confidence vote, the leadership instead decided to develop a statement of what they stand for and what the district’s leader needs to do, and if they can’t do what’s needed, the leader should step aside. The statement is expected to be completed by early next week. Chiera said it was after the leadership had completed its business that Board of Education President Samuel Lebreault and Vice President Kenneth Puccio met with leaders to answer questions. She said attorneys for the board and union authorized Lebreault and Puccio’s 25-minute visit.

Although Caffrey had heard there were discussions on new tactics to get rid of her, Chiera disputes that.

“At no point did anyone from the board approach the union to ask for a no-confidence vote,” Chiera said. “I don’t think we’re looking to hang her in effigy.”

Nonetheless, Chiera questions whether Caffrey should continue as superintendent. She said she might need to step aside so the district can move forward.

“I don’t know if she can lead us. If she can’t lead us and we look at what is best for the district, I don’t know if she should be there. I don’t believe the staff has the faith and confidence to follow her to make the changes in the district that need to be made,” Chiera said. “I think the marriage is over.”

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Ousted Perth Amboy school superintendent Caffrey returns, but battle brews

May 10, 2012

Written by Suzanne Russell

Perth Amboy Superintendent of Schools Janine Walker Caffrey on Wednesday, her first day back to work following nine school days on paid administrative leave. / SUZANNE RUSSELL/STAFF PHOTO

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Following Caffrey’s return, building administrators have told security personnel that board members are not permitted to enter school buildings without the superintendent’s written consent, according to Donna Chiera, president of Perth Amboy Federation/AFT, which represents teachers and other district employees.

District teachers also have opposed some of Caffrey’s reform methods, and some applauded when the board placed Caffrey on leave.

Chiera said the principal, vice principal and three staff members placed on leave last week in connection with an alleged incident at the Dr. Herbert N. Richardson 21st Century Elementary School remain on leave with charges pending and a board investigation into the matter yet to begin.

Chiera said it is a “double standard” that Caffrey is able to return to work while she is facing an investigation into the board’s charges, but the other district personnel are barred from returning.

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Newark Mayor Cory Booker touts scholarship bill that would allow some students to attend private school

May 04, 2012

By Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger

Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger Newark Mayor Cory Booker speaks during a press conference in this March 2011 file photo. Booker spoke today about the Opportunity Scholarship Act, which would give some Newark students scholarships to private or parochial schools.

NEWARK — A bill that would offer private and parochial school scholarships to some Newark students would give those children the chance at a bright future that many of their public schools deny them today, Newark Mayor Cory Booker said during a keynote address in Jersey City.
Booker spoke to the American Federation for Children, a privately funded group that advocates for school choice in select states across the country. Gov. Chris Christie delivered a keynote address to the group Thursday and also urged passage of the bill, known as the Opportunity Scholarship Act.

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What You Need To Know About ALEC

May 03, 2012

By Diane Ravitch
The now embattled organization has been working to destroy public ed for the past forty years. Here’s what you need to know about how they’re doing it.

Since the 2010 elections, when Republicans took control of many states, there has been an explosion of legislation advancing privatization of public schools and stripping teachers of job protections and collective bargaining rights. Even some Democratic governors, seeing the strong rightward drift of our politics, have jumped on the right-wing bandwagon, seeking to remove any protection for academic freedom from public school teachers.

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Liberal blog: Mayor Cory Booker is a ‘sellout’ for attending educational conference funded by the Koch Brothers

May 03, 2012

By David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger

The Daily Kos, a prominent liberal blog is calling Newark Mayor Cory Booker a “sellout” for attending a two day educational conference that they say is funded by the Koch Brothers.

The Daily Kos, a prominent liberal blog called Newark Mayor Cory Booker a “sellout” for attending a two day educational conference that they say is funded by the Koch Brothers.

“This gathering of the truly odious and anti-democratic, anti-schools, corporate elite, needs to be confronted in a direct non-violent, peaceful way,” the blog said, adding, “To get some idea of the gloating, vicious tone of this gathering, scroll down on this link to see the speakers — including, sadly, Newark ‘Democrat’ (a.k.a. Sellout) Mayor Cory Booker”

The two day conference is hosted by the Alliance for School Choice and is sponsored by the American Legislative Exchange council or ALEC, a right leaning think tank that drafts legislation, as well as the Walton Family foundation and Excellent Education for Everyone.

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Sending Teacher Bashing Out of Style

May 02, 2012

By Sabrina Stevens

It takes a special kind of person to be a teacher, and I don’t just say that because teaching is my own calling as well. As a whole, we are a group of people who knowingly choose a profession that will pay us less than our education and skills merit, because we’re more interested in making a difference than making money. We understand that teaching the present means reaching the future, and we want to ensure that future is a bright one. Every year, we collectively spend millions of dollars out of our own (decidedly shallow) pockets to supplement the meager budgets provided to supply our classrooms. We sacrifice time with our own families in order to plan lessons, grade assignments, write recommendations, organize and take trips, and whatever else we know will enrich our students’ educational experiences. All this, and more, we do out of the goodness of our hearts.

And all we ask in return is to be treated fairly, and to be able to use our knowledge and expertise to create the best possible conditions for teaching and learning. Yet despite doing so much, and asking comparatively little in return, we are repeatedly bullied and attacked by those who seek to advance their own personal, political and/or economic goals at our and our schools’ expense.

So this past Saturday, when I saw Kenneth Cole’s short-lived billboard, which falsely pitted “teachers’ rights vs. students’ rights” and asked the public where it stands on the question, I was so angry I could barely see straight. After two years of bruising work in a toxic school district, and another two spent battling the social, political and economic forces that created that toxicity, it was the slogan that broke this teacher-turned-activist’s figurative back.

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School board opposes renting space to charter schools

May 02, 2012

By Nick Clunn, Staff Writer, The Record

PATERSON — The school board will likely oppose a controversial proposal that would rent sections of active public schools to charter schools, one piece of a sweeping reform package that members will take up in a vote tonight.

Allowing charter schools to locate in public schools is one of several “transformation strategies” outlined by Superintendent Donnie Evans at a public forum Monday evening as the district attempts to boost academic performance in reading and mathematics.

While Evans promoted the measure as a means of saving and raising money for a district that relies heavily on state aid, board members opposed to the idea cited building-management headaches, a glut of vacant city buildings and shoddy district facilities. Advocates for charters, meanwhile, support the initiative as a means to address what they see as a rising demand for charters.

As a whole, the reform package would affect thousands of children in some of the state’s worst-performing schools and possibly redeploy hundreds of teachers. Several board members have vowed support for most other aspects of the package, including the use of test scores in assessing teacher performance, closing two small high schools and restarting seven elementary schools.

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