American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, AFL-CIO

Month: May 2015

Newark Teachers UnionPre-K to 12 News
nbender

High school principal starts petition blasting ‘One Newark’ plan

By Dan Ivers, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

NEWARK — A petition by the principal of Central High School has been gaining steam online after claiming the district is deliberately overenrolling special needs students in a “blatant” effort to cause the school to fail.

The petition apparently started by Sharnee Brown, addressed to Superintendent Cami Anderson and Assistant Superintendent Brad Haggerty, has garnered more than 750 signatures since appearing on MoveOn.org…

Read More
Pre-K to 12 News
nbender

Christie drops Common Core, but sticks with PARCC tests

By Adam Clark, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Gov. Chris Christie’s declaration that Common Core is “simply not working” made national headlines on Thursday and realigned his stance with the Republican Party’s conservative base.

But despite Christie’s rhetoric, it’s possible that Common Core standards — called by that name or not — will remain in place, state education experts and leaders said.…

Read More
Higher Ed NewsStudent debt
nbender

Task force told: N.J. colleges should rethink tuition, aid

Jonathan Lai, Inquirer Staff Writer

TRENTON – New Jersey’s colleges should reconsider the traditional “high aid, high tuition” funding model long in place, a task force on college affordability was told Wednesday.

Steven M. Rose, president of Passaic County Community College, said he believed the funding model had grown unconsciously over time: When the state cut or limited funding, public colleges and universities would raise tuition, and the state money would go toward financial aid instead.…

Read More
Newark Teachers UnionPre-K to 12 News
AFTNJ

Newark School Community Anxiously Awaits Details On Impending Layoffs

By John Mooney

On heels of news that 155 civil-service jobs will be cut, impact on teaching jobs remains unclear

[..]

The uncertainty has left the district, along with its educators and their unions, in a state of turmoil as the end of the school year approaches.
The Newark Teachers Union is going through an election of its first new president in 20 years, and all three candidates for the top post said at last night’s schools advisory board meeting that it has been a difficult time for members.…

Read More
In ActionNewark Teachers UnionPre-K to 12 NewsVideos
nbender

Newark Student Union #NPSWalkout2015

Signs, sounds and scenes from Friday's #NPSWalkout2015 #OurNewark Newark Students Union The Newark Parents Union Parents Unified for Local School Education (PULSE) Bob Braun's Ledger Save Our Schools New Jersey Alliance for Newark Public Schools Newark Teachers Union AFT – American Federation of Teachers

Posted by AFT New Jersey on Tuesday, May 26, 2015

… Read More
Pensions
AFTNJ

Christie’s Proposed 10-Year Pension Payment Ramp-Up Could Cost NJ Billions

Governor’s own law gives him seven years to get pension payments in line, but he says he needs 10. What he’s not saying is how costs would balloon over time

By John Reitmeyer

While lawmakers await a ruling from New Jersey’s Supreme Court on whether the state has to stay committed to a plan to prop up the public-employee pension system with a series of escalating payments over a seven-year term, Gov.…

Read More
Pre-K to 12 News
AFTNJ

Christie Seeks To Reshape School Accountability Mandates In Federal Waiver

By John Mooney

Education Law Center says proposal would give too much leeway, with less openness, over state-controlled urban schools

The Christie administration has asked the federal government to allow some changes in the state’s accountability system for its most troubled schools, including the administration’s own state-controlled schools.

[…]

Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson has come under especially heavy criticism for her moves, with widespread protests over her classification of so-called “turnaround schools,” including a downtown march involving as many as 2,000 high school students on Friday.…

Read More
MediaNewark Teachers UnionPre-K to 12 NewsPress Clips
AFTNJ

Newark Students Protest Superintendent’s School Policy

Newark, NJ—Thousands of students walked out of school in the latest protest against Superintendent Cami Anderson and the district’s plans to designate an additional eight schools as “turnaround” schools in the next school year.

The designation means that, according to officials with the Newark Teachers Union, teachers are required to sign agreements that mandate they work a longer school day, go through two additional weeks of professional development in the summer and work on multiple Saturdays.…

Read More
Adjunct IssuesHigher Ed NewsMediaPress Clips
nbender

Kean, UCC adjuncts feel disrespected

Part-time teachers have similar work load as tenured staff, make far less money

By Cheryl Hehl, Staff Writer

UNION COUNTY, NJ — The role of adjunct professors in higher education is continually expanding, but these non-tenured employees at both Kean University and Union County College claim while their numbers continue to grow, they are not respected or valued by administration.…

Read More
MediaNewark Teachers UnionPre-K to 12 NewsPress Clips
AFTNJ

Students Say Record Protest Crowd Shows Strong Resistance to Superintendent’s Reforms

By David Cruz, Correspondent

It was billed as the largest student protest in Newark Public Schools history. That’s a tough one to verify, but for many a seasoned observer today’s student walkout represented the strongest show of student solidarity in the state takeover era, more than 20 years now. They came from Weequahic and Shabazz, University and East Side highs — almost 2,000 in all — many defying a letter sent to parents warning that the protests were a “violation of our discipline code” and could result in “detention to suspension, as well as exclusion from celebratory end-of-year events.”…

Read More
AFTNJ NewsMediaPre-K to 12 NewsPress Clips
AFTNJ

Mediation the next step after teachers’ contract talks stall in Garfield

By Kristie Cattafi, Staff Writer, Community News (Garfield Edition)

The Garfield Federation of Teachers (GFT) group is at an impasse and will now seek mediation after working without a contract for a year.

The contract expired on June 30, 2014. The largest impact without a contract due to the laws in New Jersey is not getting a raise, Garfield Federation of Teachers Local 3977 President Rob Barbier explained.…

Read More
Higher Ed News
AFTNJ

Stockton University acting president to continue leadership, officials say

By Brittany M. Wehner, For NJ.com
kesselman4png-a3caf7f48cbb681d.png
Harvey Kesselman (Submitted Photo | For NJ.com)Brittany M. Wehner | For NJ.com

GALLOWAY TWP. — Dr. Harvey Kesselman will remain Stockton University’s acting president, officials confirmed Wednesday morning.Kesselman will also withdraw as president of the University of Southern Maine and continue as Stockton’s acting president at the request of the school’s Board of Trustees, a press release stated.

… Read More
AFTNJ NewsPre-K to 12 NewsTestimony
AFTNJ

Testimony: Call for a Moratorium on the Consequences of High Stakes Testing

Parents, students, community members and educators continue to stand up against the trend of standardized testing increasingly driving education policies and practices. They are rejecting the concept of the disastrous “shame, blame, test and punish” accountability system that is dismantling the teaching and learning process. Disbelief and outrage was expressed when it was learned publishing companies are “spying” on students without any prior notification to the school systems, parents or students.…

Read More