Category Archives: Local Control
Twenty years and counting
We’ve past a milestone that I hoped we’d never see. August 7 was the 20th anniversary of state takeover of the Paterson Public Schools. Will we ever return? We could. NJ QSAC [Quality Single Accountability Continuum] finally provided the roadmap. Our state … Continue reading
“Democracy isn’t just for rich people”
“Democracy isn’t just for rich people,” said Julia Sass Rubin in Bob Braun’s column about waning support for charters. Our suburban neighbors are proposing that charter schools should have to be approved by the local community. Dr. Rubin leads a … Continue reading
Looking for the Money, not Just Following it
“Follow the Money” is a workshop about understanding school budgets that I’ve been offering for years. Because all NJ school districts use the same formats and regualtions, the materials I’ve developed about the Paterson budget can be used for any … Continue reading
Change and Continuity
I am traveling to Trenton today to hear the State Board of Education receive Dr. Evans’ report on the Paterson Public Schools. I want to gauge the amount of support our new Commissioner and Board members show to him as … Continue reading
Unspeakable truths and takeover
Last Sunday, to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, my Children’s Chapel children and I talked about justice. As I listened to them wrestle their experiences, I was reminded that Paterson participated in racist/segregationist policies for its school children. We adults don’t talk … Continue reading
Don’t pop the cork, local control still distant
The newly released QSAC [Quality Single Accountability Contiuum] scores suggest that Paterson Public Schools will regain governance, personnel and operations. But don’t pop that celebratory cork yet. Acting Commissioner Hendrick’s letter doesn’t give a firm timeline for next steps. It does say … Continue reading
Suburban Allies? We can only hope.
Gov. Christie moves to limit superintendent salaries and the suburbs fight back. Could this be the issue that brings the cities and the suburbs together? Listening to the suburban superintendents and school board members at a public hearing last week … Continue reading
Is mayoral control the answer to local control? Maybe not.
Two interesting reports were released Oct 12: one on fairness in school funding and the other on mayoral control of schools. I’ll write about the school funding report later. But for now, let’s consider mayoral control of schools as a … Continue reading
Paterson School Board workshop meeting 10/6; wrestling with bad news
Most of the news wasn’t good. Spring 2010 test scores were mostly down. One hundred eighty-six seniors didn’t pass the final exit exam and were denied diplomas. The board had lots of ideas about what to do that include all … Continue reading
QSAC Stars in Trenton: Will we ever return to local control?
Yesterday I attended the Joint committee on Public Schools meeting. Here are a few things I thought noteworthy. Senator Rice asked some very pointed questions about QSAC. He wanted to know: the implementation process, how many districts had been evaluated, how … Continue reading