By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
Joseph Del Grosso, President of the Newark Teachers Union/American Federation of Teachers and Cami Anderson, Superintendent of the Newark Public Schools sign a tentative agreement on a new contract. The event took place at Brick Peshine school on Oct. 18. The new agreement will go into effect June 30, 2015.
Jennifer Brown/The Star-Ledger The long fight to improve public schools in Newark faces a crucial crossroads tomorrow, when teachers will vote on a breakthrough contract that could finally bring fundamental change.
For the first time in this state, district teachers would get a chance to earn bonuses based on merit. Just as important, they would have a seat at the table when teacher evaluations are made.
This contract is a striking reform of the traditional pay structure and would put Newark in the national vanguard. Teachers would no longer be treated like factory workers, toiling in a system that ignores talent or improvement. Instead, they would be treated like professionals, able to earn rewards based on evidence of success, as in the rest of the working world. Ineffective teachers would receive no pay hikes under this contract and, with the new tenure law signed this summer, could be removed from the classroom if efforts to lift their performance fail.
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