American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, AFL-CIO

Month: March 2013

AFTNJ NewsHigher Ed NewsMediaPolitical EducationPress releases
AFTNJ

Rutgers Faculty Union backs Buono for governor

By Max Pizarro

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Rutgers AAUP-AFT, the faculty union at Rutgers University, today announced its support for Barbara Buono for Governor.

The union members issued a statement saying they believe Buono will become known as New Jersey’s “Higher Education Governor” because she has the experience and leadership required to put student success at the center of higher education policy.…

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AFTNJ NewsHigher Ed NewsMediaPress Clips
AFTNJ

Rutgers University faculty union endorses Buono for governor

By Melissa Hayes

The union representing more than 6,000 faculty members, teaching assistants and other instructors at Rutgers University has endorsed state Sen. Barbara Buono’s gubernatorial bid.
The union representing faculty members at Rutgers University has backed Sen. Barbara Buono’s gubernatorial bid.

The American Association of University Professors-American Federation of Teachers at Rutgers issued a statement endorsing Buono and saying, “she will become known as New Jersey’s ‘Higher Education Governor’ because she has the experience and leadership required to put student success at the center of higher education policy.”…

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Higher Ed News
AFTNJ

State Budget Officers Call on States and Colleges to Fix Higher-Ed Finance

By Eric Kelderman

Another report has concluded that the financial model for higher education is broken. The difference this time is that the report calls on both state lawmakers and campuses to share in the burden of fixing the problems.

The National Association of State Budget Officers, a nonpartisan group of state-government officials, released its analysis of higher-education finance on Wednesday, along with several broad policy suggestions.…

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Pre-K to 12 News
AFTNJ

Ruiz Raises ‘Severe Concerns’ About Administration’s Teacher Evaluation Program

Chief architect of tenure reform cautions against putting too much importance, too soon, on student performance on state tests

By John Mooney

As the Christie administration’s new regulations for teacher evaluation near a critical juncture, the prime author of the landmark tenure reform law behind the proposed rules said the administration may be moving too aggressively in some places.…

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Adjunct IssuesHigher Ed News
AFTNJ

Our Dirty Little Secret

By Adrianna Kezar, David Longanecker and Daniel Maxey

The faculty in postsecondary education has changed so much in the last 20 years that it has been labeled a “revolution” by researchers who study the professoriate. More than two-thirds of the faculty providing instruction in nonprofit higher education are currently employed off the tenure track, and their numbers continue to rise.…

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MediaPre-K to 12 NewsPress Clips
AFTNJ

Education Non-Profit Recognizes Chiera

In addition to running Saturday school programs, Project Redirect deals with difficult issues such as gang violence, AIDS, youth employment, school violence, child abuse and juvenile delinquency.

The non-profit recognized Donna M. Chiera with a lifetime achievement award for her commitment to working with children. Chiera spent more than three decades as a special-needs classroom teacher and is a passionate advocate for education as President of both the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey and the Perth Amboy Federation.…

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Pre-K to 12 News
AFTNJ

Christie, Cerf & Co. Take the Reins of Camden Public Schools

Governor vows to be sensitive to local board and community, but is ready to ‘exert whatever control’ is called for

By John Mooney

It’s called an “intervention” instead of a “takeover,” and there was lots of talk yesterday about partnership and cooperation. But make no mistake, Gov. Chris Christie and his administration are primed to exercise full control over Camden public schools.…

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Pre-K to 12 News
AFTNJ

Deal May End City’s Standoff With Teachers

By Ariel Kaminer

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders said on Monday that they had reached an agreement to help New York City and its teachers’ union settle on a teacher evaluation system and save the city from losing hundreds of millions of dollars in future education financing.
Related

The agreement on a new measure in the state budget seeks to resolve a standoff between the Bloomberg administration and the United Federation of Teachers about how to assess the performance of public school teachers, as required by a 2010 state law.…

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MediaPre-K to 12 NewsPress Clips
nbender

Perth Amboy’s search for bilingual teachers may extend to Puerto Rico

By Suzanne Russell

PERTH AMBOY — Board of Education members will vote Tuesday on whether to spend nearly $6,000 to send four district administrators to Puerto Rico next month to recruit teachers.

District Director of Human Resources Bernice Marshall, Perth Amboy Adult School Principal Senovia Robles, McGinnis School Principal Myrna Garcia and Perth Amboy High School Principal Nestor Collazo are seeking board approval to travel to San Juan-Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, from April 28 to May 2.…

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Pre-K to 12 News
nbender

Christie to announce state takeover of Camden schools

Matt Katz and Claudia Vargas, Inquirer Staff Writers

TRENTON – Gov. Christie plans to announce Monday that he is taking the extraordinary step of putting the educational and fiscal management of the Camden School District under state control, The Inquirer has learned.

As part of the takeover of what the state considers the worst-performing district in New Jersey, Christie will appoint a new superintendent and leadership team, shifting the school board to an advisory role, according to Christie administration officials briefed on the plan.…

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MediaPress Clips
nbender

Local day of action for USPS results in large support for six days a week delivery

[…] “I came here to support the USPS and the middle-class people who work for it,” said Donna Chiera of Perth Amboy, president of the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey. “I also came here to support the community. We need six-day delivery. So many of us rely on Saturday delivery for medications, checks or just keep in touch with people.… Read More
Higher Ed NewsIn ActionPhotos
nbender

AFTNJ Higher Ed supports Discipline Grievance Training

University of Nebraska’s William Brennan Institute of Labor Studies John Kretzschmer visited New Jersey to run a day-long session on Discipline Grievance and the Seven Tests of Just Cause.
The program was organized by Union of Rutgers Administrators and supported by AFTNJ’s Higher Education division and attended by members of the Kean University Adjunct Faculty Federation and Montclair State University Federation.…

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AFTNJ NewsHigher Ed NewsMediaPress Clips
nbender

National Report on Higher Education Documents State’s Shrinking Support for Public Colleges

Cutting funding boosts tuition, reduces course offerings, and — according to one expert — can deter businesses from moving to New Jersey

By Colleen O’Dea

New Jersey has cut funding for public colleges by more than a quarter since the start of the recession, resulting in higher tuition at the exact time layoffs and salary cuts were making it more difficult for many families to pay more, according to a new national report.…

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