On January 5th, the NJ Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 [SFRA]. I hope that you will plan to join us in Trenton at the hearing to represent our children and our community. There is so much at stake
Read more →The papers all dutifully reported that the US students ranked last in science literacy and only in the middle of the 24 nations in math literacy. Gov. Christie and lots of other politicians decried our education performance. It’s fashionable to find we have a crisis. And their answers are
Read more →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 that a confirming decision will depend upon
Read more →New rumors that Gov Christie will name a new Commissioner of Education are swirling around again. The Gov’s choice matters. A lot. Paterson needs stability. In the past 5 years, Paterson has had three superintendents, each with a different vision for how to improve our schools. Each
Read more →It’s a day to celebrate! Paterson parents stood up for their kids in two separate, but significant actions. First, Corey Teague organized a protest in front of the Paterson Public Schools central offices to highlight the state’s lack of action in releasing funds to provide for pre-k
Read more →How long, Gov. Christie, how long? Our children sit in substandard, inadequate and obsolete schools. You could fix it. Just one word to the SDA, “Go!” For Paterson’s children, four projects sit waiting for action. The most needed is the one at Hazel and Marshall Streets. Stalled
Read more →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 gives me hope that city/suburb education coalitions
Read more →I participated in professional development at two national conferences last week, hence no blogs. My brain gets too full! I find I’m not only taking in the content of the meetings, but dreaming about how to use the knowledge to push us forward. It’s the activist in
Read more →Thanks to John Mooney and and NJ Spotlight, we now know that 308 employees of the School Development Authority, including nearly 50 making over $100,000, have worked for nearly a year to reconsider 50 school projects and reorganize the organizational chart. With roughly 60 SDA employees per
Read more →As I get ready for Dr. Evan’s forum at Rosa Parks tonight at 5 pm, I’m thinking about charter schools as a reform strategy. As Dr. Evans explained last week, Paterson does not have the authority to give any group a charter. Currently, only the New Jersey
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