Online discussion will explore first-gen student mentoring

Join Chronicle of Higher Education senior writer Katherine Mangan on March 28 as she hosts the virtual forum “Mentoring Programs for First-Gen Students.”

Mangan and a panel of college mentoring experts will talk about how to establish an atmosphere that encourages mentoring bonds.

The session starts at 2 p.m. ET on March 28. For more info and to register, click here.…

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Amplify Education rolls out literacy webinar series

For its spring 2023 webinar series, Amplify Education will present sessions designed to improve literacy instruction. Among the scheduled webinars:

• March 24 at 1 p.m. ET: “Supplemental Reading Educator Roundtable” — hosted by literacy specialist Charissa Snyder and professional learning specialist Cynthia Shields

• March 27 at 1 p.m. ET: “Literacy Is Opportunity” — with Mitchell Brookins, an educational consultant and former school administrator

• April 10 at 1 p.m.…

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Faculty, union leaders take charge at Fund NJCU Rally

New Jersey City University faculty and students, along with labor leaders, members of various unions, elected officials and others, convened March 13 for the Fund NJCU Rally, presented by AFT Local 1839 inside the campus’ Gilligan Student Union Building.

Here are excerpts from select rally speakers:

“For 93 years, NJCU has provided tens of thousands of students from Jersey City, Hudson and surrounding counties with educational opportunities … In 2029, NJCU will begin its second century.…

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PAF’s Paradiso to Perth Amboy BOE: ‘Step up — or step aside’

The Perth Amboy Board of Education on March 9 held its first meeting since the stabbing of 11-year-old Smailyn Jimenez on Feb. 22 by a fellow Samuel E. Shull Middle School student and the subsequent community outcry about school safety.

In an op-ed posted by Perth Amboy Now on March 11, Perth Amboy Federation President Pat Paradiso wrote about a “raucous and uncomfortable” atmosphere during the March 9 meeting’s public session.…

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Biden’s FY24 budget requests $90B for Education Department

In the U.S. government budget for fiscal year 2024, revealed March 9, President Joe Biden has requested $90 billion for the Department of Education, $10.8 billion more than the 2023 enacted level.

Some of the investments within that $90 billion are:

• $20.5 billion for Title I (a $2.2 billion increase above the 2023 enacted level)

• $578 million for more school-based counselors, psychologists, social workers and other health professionals in K-12 schools and to support colleges and universities develop campus-wide strategies to address student mental health needs, including hiring additional providers on their campuses

• $132 million for the Teacher Quality Partnership program (a $62 million increase above the 2023 enacted level)

“President Biden’s latest budget proposal calls on Congress to act with urgency and provide our schools with the resources needed to raise the bar in education by promoting academic excellence and rigorous instruction, improving learning conditions, and answering unmet challenges like the educator shortage and the mental health needs of our students,” U.S.…

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Murphy highlights K-12 funding in FY24 budget

Gov. Phil Murphy on March 2 visited Montgomery Upper Middle School in Skillman to highlight K-12 school funding in his fiscal year 2024 budget, which he unveiled Feb. 28.

“As I told New Jerseyans on Tuesday, this next New Jersey is going to be grounded on three central tenets: affordability, responsibility and opportunity,” Murphy said.…

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Hundreds gather for Take Back Rutgers rally on Newark campus

Like they did at their Dec. 6 rally in New Brunswick for new contracts, Rutgers University unions endured raw weather Feb. 28 for the centerpiece of their Take Back Rutgers actions on the Newark campus.

Following the first of two scheduled indoor discussions about solidarity, an estimated 200 people gathered for an outdoor rally on the steps of the Paul Robeson Campus Center. Eric…

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