Campaign launches with weekly outreach and community rally
NEWARK, New Jersey – Calling for an end to school closures and budget cuts in New Jersey’s largest school system, Newark teachers are taking to the streets outside their schools Friday, Dec. 6 and supporting a community rally Monday, Dec. 9. Restoring local control is seen by many as the solution to a host of problems in the district, according to Newark Teachers Union (NTU) President Joseph Del Grosso, including a shift in resources to charter schools and an overemphasis on high-stakes testing.
The coordinated action initiated by the Newark Teachers Union, an American Federation of Teachers local of more than 4,500 teachers, aides and clerk starts Friday, Dec. 6 and is based on outreach before and after school to parents and community members. Del Grosso said that union members want to take the message that Superintendent Cami Anderson has failed the district to the public. “Parents and residents need to see our members in the neighborhood and talk about how the district’s policies are hurting Newark’s children,” he said.
For Monday, Dec. 9, NTU is joining a community coalition including the Newark Students Union, New Jersey Communities United and the Newark NAACP to participate in a national day of action after school. The groups will meet downtown and march to reiterate the call for community control and decry disparities in racial equity and funding.
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