The American Federation of Teachers is proud to support the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games being held from June 14-21 in northern New Jersey. We congratulate the more than 3,500 athletes whose determination and hard work earned them a place in this competition. Come be a part of the fun and register as a Special Olympics USA Games volunteer!…
Read MoreShare My Lesson is about to celebrate a milestone—half a million registered users—and with your help, we can reach this milestone together. That’s right, in a matter of days, Share My Lesson will have 500,000 registered educators, parents and other users. If you haven’t already joined Share My Lesson, please sign up today. Share My Lesson is free to join, and the content on the site will always be free.…
Read MoreBy John Mooney
State-appointed superintendent of NJ’s largest school district consistently hits majority of her targets
Newark school Superintendent Cami Anderson may be a polarizing figure among community and political leaders, but as far as her contract with the Christie administration to head up the state-operated district is concerned, it’s so far, so good.
Anderson’s first three-year contract in the district — which earns her an annual base salary of $247,500 — is set to expire this summer.…
Read MoreThe 68th Convention election results. Terms in office run from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2016
Executive Officers
Donna Chiera, President
Susanna Tardi, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Higher Education
Cheryl Skeete, Executive Vice President, Prekindergarten to 12
Lucye Millerand, Secretary
Joseph D. Amabile, Treasurer
| PreK to 12 VPs | Higher Ed VPs |
| Robert Barbier Larry Bello Michael Dixon Princess Hogue Patricia Paradiso Mark Parkhurst Jennifer Ramos Margaret Roberts Carlos Rodriguez Joanna Rios Neil Thomas * |
Elaine Bobrove James Castiglione Rose Cipparulo Lynne Cummins Adrienne Eaton Sara Ann Harnick Tim Haresign Richard Gomes Robert J. |
Sen. Sandra Cunningham, Charles Hall Jr., Bob Braun and the late Nick Yovnello recognized
EDISON… On Saturday, the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey (AFTNJ) convention honored four individuals whose leadership made significant contributions in improving education and advancing workers rights. “Those of us who work so hard to educate students know that we need to engage with community to initiate change,” said AFTNJ President Donna M.…
Read MoreBy Jeff Goldman/The Star-Ledger
UNION — Three former Kean University female student-athletes who claim they were forced to give up their scholarships have filed a class action suit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, according to a report on the New Jersey Law Journal’s website.
The student-athletes said in the suit they lost their scholarships after the NCAA placed the school on probation in 2012 for its failure to exert control over the athletic department.…
Read MoreContact: Nat Bender, 908-377-0393
EDISON…Journalist Bob Braun is being honored by the American Federation of Teachers New Jersey for his continued coverage of education policy issues in New Jersey and particularly in its largest district—Newark. Braun wrote for the Star-Ledger for nearly 50 years, serving as education editor for nearly 30 years and senior news columnist covering a wide range of issues.…
Read MoreBy Peggy McGlone/The Star-Ledger
NEWARK — Enrollment notifications for the more than 12,000 Newark families who submitted applications for their children to attend school in September will be delayed because district officials are trying to provide some transportation to students, school officials said.
[…]
Newark Teachers Union president Joseph Del Grosso said its new radio campaign is intended to halt the plan’s implementation.…
By Ben Cosman
This week saw the end of both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments, crowning the University of Connecticut champions in both. What better time than now for Jon Stewart to completely crush the NCAA’s argument against player unions?…
Read More
AFTNJ President Donna M. Chiera accepts Community Champion Award on behalf of Randi Weingarten…
Read MoreEDISON, New Jersey – “As a fellow educator in an urban district for more than thirty years, I appreciate that Ras Baraka is making public education a primary focus of his campaign and I am proud to convey our endorsement. Vital public services like education and healthcare are under attack, so we need to elect leaders who are committed to preserving and improving the public good, not allowing for privatization of community assets for profit,” said American Federation of Teachers New Jersey (AFTNJ) President Donna M.…
Read MoreBy Mark Weber
Attempts to deprecate or demonize teachers when they stand up for themselves are bad for our kids’ education
Why is teaching the only profession in New Jersey (and the nation) where employees are criticized for standing up for themselves?
In Newark, the teachers union has decried a plan, proposed by State Superintendent Cami Anderson, to bypass laws requiring the use of seniority in layoffs.…
Read MoreBy Peter Schmidt
As part-time instructors at colleges seek to improve their working conditions through unionization, they often find that the people standing in the way of their efforts are not administrators but fellow faculty members, several union organizers and labor experts observed at a conference held here this week.
Tenure-track professors can be resistant to contract provisions that erode their power over faculty appointments or let contingent faculty members assume a bigger role in the shared governance of their institution.…
Read MoreBy John Mooney
Portion of evaluation that’s based on student test scores will remain at 30 percent for 2014-2015
With plenty of questions still swirling around this year’s planned launch of the new teacher-evaluation system, the Christie administration has told school districts that little – if anything – will change for next year.
The state Department of Education alerted districts yesterday that the basic components of the system used to determine each teacher’s rating will not change in 2014-15.…
Read More