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The Buzz
3-20-19 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Group May Head Back to Court over Lack of NJ School Desegregation
A lawsuit filed last year claims residency rules are to blame for lack of diversity in New Jersey public education...'
Star Ledger--Ex-prison guards can now patrol N.J. schools as armed police Fueled by fear and finances, a new state law will let almost all retired law enforcement under age 65 become armed school police officers, including former correctional officers who spent their careers guarding prisons...' The Record--Controversial NJ schools authority keeps a low but costly profile Most people may not know about the Schools Development Authority, but taxpayers pay more than $1 billion a year to support it...' NY Times--Admissions Scandal Stokes Hard Questions on Recruited Athletes A dozen years ago, the University of Washington barred athletic coaches from having contact with anyone in the admissions department...' NPR--When The News Is Scary, What To Say To Kids Whether a school shooting or a deadly tornado, scary events in the news can leave parents struggling to know when--and how-- they should talk with their kids about it. Rosemarie Truglio of Sesame Workshop and Tara Conley, a media studies professor at Montclair State University, give us tips...'
3-19-19 Education in the News
Philadelphia Inquirer--Princeton data broker tried to sell personal info on a million kids but didn’t tell state officials A New Jersey data broker that collects and sells personal information about consumers told regulators that it did not knowingly possess data on minors, even as it advertised a mailing list of more than a million high school students for sale on its website...' Education Week--Taking the Guesswork Out of Teacher Hiring Imagine a world where school districts' hiring departments can predict the longevity and effectiveness of a teacher before she steps foot into a classroom...' The Hechinger Report--TEACHER VOICE: The gaping hole in President Trump’s proposed education budget How cuts in federal money for teachers' professional development will hurt students President Trump has proposed cutting over $2 billion in funds for professional development and career growth and replacing them with vouchers for trainings that go directly to teachers, thereby circumventing district- and school-level bureaucracies...'
3-18-19 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Compromise Plan to Boost Oversight of Public-Worker Health Benefits
Appointment of independent monitor would allow for ongoing, regular auditing of billions that state pays annually for claims — Sen. Sarlo...'
Star Ledger--The top 50 high schools in N.J.’s new rating system It’s might not be perfect, and it’s not exactly popular, but it’s the closest thing New Jersey has to an official list of its top schools...' Star Ledger--Lakewood to get another $15M in school aid from special fund just for Lakewood First, Lakewood School District received an extra $15 million in school funding through some special treatment in the governor’s proposed education budget...' New York Times--Is the College Cheating Scandal the ‘Final Straw’ for Standardized Tests? The federal indictments in the college admissions scheme come as standardized tests are under the microscope nationwide. For parents desperate to boost their children’s SAT or ACT scores, the test preparation company Student-Tutor offered an enticing solution: claim a learning disability and qualify for extra time. “This time advantage can help raise their scores significantly!” the website blared. “Some students have even reported raising their score by as much as 350+ points!” This week’s college admissions scandal provided an instruction manual for gaming the SAT: bribe the proctor, hire a stand-in, see the right psychologist to get a signoff for more time...' NPR--Building Teens Into Strong Readers — By Letting Them Teach Two afternoons a week, Mikala Tardy walks six blocks from Eastern High School to Payne Elementary School, not far from Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. She signs in at the front desk just after 3:30 p.m. and makes her way to a classroom, where she'll be tutoring second- and third-graders who are full of energy after the school day...'
3-15-19 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Spelling Out How School Funding Formula Needs to Be Overhauled
New report says so many things have changed since formula was created a decade ago that big adjustments are needed, including more money for special education
It’s been a decade since New Jersey adopted its progressive school funding formula and new data suggest that it’s overdue for an update. Any revision of the formula should direct extra funding toward students with special needs, those in high-poverty communities, and upping teachers’ salaries, according to a new report...'
NJ Spotlight--Op-Ed: NJ’s Pensions Are Not Expensive, So Let’s Stop Pretending They Are The state has to be serious about paying the debt that it owes, and this might require some tough choices New Jersey has a pension problem...' NJ Spotlight--State Budget for 2020: Now It’s the Public’s Turn to Weigh In Four legislative hearings on Gov. Phil Murphy’s $38.6B spending plan for the coming fiscal year will be held over the next two weeks...' Star Ledger--Hundreds of kids across N.J. plan to skip school because leaders aren’t addressing climate change On Friday, kids across the Garden State will skip school for a global cause. Students in New Jersey, across the United States and around the world have organized “climate strikes” as part of a surging youth effort to push global leaders to take immediate action to address climate change...' Star Ledger: Op-Ed--Caring for babies in public schools would raise taxes, jeopardize 87,000 jobs, child care advocates say A bill that aims to create child care centers in public schools appears as if it could be an effective use of unused classroom space and generate more money for school districts. But it would actually put tens of thousands of current jobs at risk and reduce the level of care, child care advocates say...' Chalkbeat--Who applies and who’s denied? Four things we learned from a new report on America’s charter schools Fewer “no excuses” and for-profit charter schools are getting the green light to open, according to a report offering a fresh look at the state of the charter school movement...' Education Week--Schools Grapple With Student Depression as Data Show Problem Worsening Rates of mental-health incidents among teens and young adults have arced upward over the last decade while they’ve remained relatively unchanged for older adults, a new analysis finds...'
3-14-19 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Mental Health Education Starting in Kindergarten?
State lawmakers to vote today on measures that would require school curriculum to include age-appropriate lessons on mental health...'
Star Ledger--N.J. wants to send extra $15M to Lakewood for private schoolers. Why didn’t it tell anyone? When Gov. Phil Murphy proposed his 2020 budget last week it revealed Lakewood School District would get a massive 63 percent hike in state funding, by far the largest of any district in the state...' Asbury Park Press—Op-Ed: County School Districts Could Reduce Taxes, Segregation A proposal by New Jersey Senate President Sweeney to create a pilot program of countywide school districts could address property taxes and school segregation...' Associated Press (via Press of Atlantic City)--The parents of more than 40 unvaccinated kids in N.Y. want them back in school, now. A judge said no. In a county at the epicenter of New York's worst measles outbreak in decades, a group of parents is pushing to get their kids back in school. The problem? The children aren't vaccinated...' New York Times--Inside the Pricey, Totally Legal World of College Consultants For prices up to $1.5 million, parents can buy a five-year, full-service package of college admissions consulting from a company in New York City called Ivy Coach. The service — all of it legal — begins as early as eighth grade, as students are steered toward picking the right classes and extracurriculars to help them stand out from the crowd...' The Hechinger Report--OPINION: Shocked by the college admissions scandal? School counselors aren’t 'The students who need the most support receive the least'...'
3-13-19 Education the News
NJ Spotlight--Latest Attempt to Rate NJ Schools Is Now Public
State education officials are again assigning a numerical grade — from 1 to 100 — to schools, based on achievement and other factors. Check out our searchable database...'
NJ Spotlight--Murphy, Dem Leaders Now Must Round Up Votes for Marijuana Legislation Have they the support of enough Democrats to legalize adult use in New Jersey? That’s just one question arising out of this week’s agreement on legislation...' Star Ledger--Want to make it more affordable to live in N.J.? Then, consolidate our schools, lawmaker says It’s a good time to be a student in New Jersey - and a terrible time to be a taxpayer...' NY Times--Children May Be Grown, but Parenting Doesn’t Seem to Stop Dad shows up at your job interview. Mom makes your medical appointments. The college bribery scandal is an extreme example of a broader pattern...'
3-12-19 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--HS Graduation: Commissioner, Principals Discuss Key Issues ‘We are moving away from PARCC, and we are doing it methodically,’ Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet tells NJ Spotlight roundtable...' Star Ledger--The 10 biggest winners in N.J.’s school funding shakeup Sometimes you have to lose before you can win. Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed 2020 budget calls for spending $206 million more on direct aid to public schools, and it reallocates another $90 million from districts considered overfunded by the state to districts that have long suffered from underfunding...' Star Ledger--School can’t find bilingual teachers in N.J., so admins are taking a $14K trip to Puerto Rico Six officials from the Paterson public schools are heading to Puerto Rico this week seeking Spanish-speaking teachers willing to move to New Jersey and take a job in the state’s third-largest city...' Asbury Park Press—First check state’s school aid math—editorial The New Jersey School Funding Formula instituted last year created winners and losers. Some districts in the two shore counties were among those hardest hit...' Education Week--What Tests Does Each State Require? Education Week has tracked states’ testing plans in math and English/language arts since 2014. This year’s survey found a continued, steady erosion in the number of states using the PARCC or Smarter Balanced common-core-aligned tests: five fewer than in 2017. The number of states requiring students to take college-admissions tests, or pass an exit exam to graduate, is holding steady...' The Atlantic--The Trump Administration Really Wants to Cut Education Funding. Congress Doesn’t. For the third year in a row, lawmakers are expected to disregard the administration’s proposed budget. On Monday, Donald Trump’s administration released its budget proposal for the 2020 fiscal year, and the plan isn’t pretty for the Education Department...'
3-11-19 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Interactive Map: 2018 Graduation Rate, NJ’s Best in Recent Years
The rate rose for almost every category of graduate. And, after years of not reporting data by gender, 2018 results show girls graduated at higher rate than boys...'
Star Ledger--Meet Meadow, the first K-9 dog on patrol at an N.J. high school It’s lunchtime at the Cumberland County Technical Education Center, and the cafeteria is full of students sitting around telling jokes and talking about the upcoming weekend. Standing to the side of the room, keeping a watchful eye on everything going on was the first of its kind team in the state: Steve Manera and K-9 Meadow...' Asbury Park Press—What is the New Jersey School Ethics Commission: New Jersey school board members are held to a code of ethics. The Ethics Commission reviews complaints against members...' Chalkbeat--The Gates Foundation is hoping better curriculum will boost student learning. A new study says, not so fast. Better curriculum was supposed to be one of the next big things in education...'
3-8-19 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Winners and Losers Seen in State School-Aid Numbers
Nearly 370 districts will be seeing some increase in aid; another 200 will lose out
Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday presented a fiscal 2020 state budget that would invest another $206 million in state aid to public schools.
On Thursday, the details came out about how that money would be distributed, and not everyone is pleased...'
NJ Spotlight--Sweeney on Murphy Budget: He’d Like More Savings, No Millionaire’s Tax Senate president also presses governor to quadruple planned subsidy for New Jersey Transit, to $100 million...' Education Week--When Measles Breaks Out, Unvaccinated Kids Send Schools Scrambling The effects of an ongoing measles outbreak centered in Washington state have spread well beyond the patients who’ve contracted the virus, creating logistical challenges for schools and public health officials, who’ve spent $1 million to contain the illness...'
3-7-19 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Defining the Diploma: NJ’s 21st-Century High School Graduate
What should high school in New Jersey accomplish for students and communities? Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet joins the first of a four-part series of roundtables on the state of our education
What should a New Jersey high school diploma stand for in these modern and complicated times? And how do we get there?...'
Star Ledger--What you absolutely need to know about Murphy’s budget — taxes, pensions, spending and weed A year after a bruising budget battle brought New Jersey to the brink of a shutdown, Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday delivered a state budget address aimed at reconciling with the Democratic lawmakers whose support he’ll need to pass his $38.6 billion spending plan and raise taxes on the state’s affluent taxpayers...' Associated Press (via Philadelphia Inquirer)--School lessons targeted by climate change doubters HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut lawmaker wants to strike climate change from state science standards. A Virginia legislator worries teachers are indoctrinating students with their personal views on global warming. And an Oklahoma state senator wants educators to be able to introduce alternative viewpoints without fear of losing their jobs...' New York Times--Using Arts Education to Help Other Lessons Stick The arts can be a source of joy in a child’s day, and also come in handy for memorizing times tables...' Education Week--One-Fourth of K-12 Math Instruction Occurs Digitally, Survey Suggests Despite the massive influx of devices and software into K-12 schools, educators say the vast majority of math instruction takes place offline, according to a new survey from market intelligence firm Simba Information...' The Atlantic--The Stigma of Choosing Trade School Over College When college is held up as the one, true path to success, parents—especially highly educated ones—may worry when their children opt for vocational school instead...'
3-6-19 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Murphy’s Budget Is $1B Bigger than Last Year’s, Promises $1B in Savings
Governor’s proposal receives a far less hostile response from fellow Democrats than his budget last year, although they still seem at odds over possible tax hikes...'
The ABCs Of What Budget Means for New Jersey’s Schools A look at the details of a spending plan that boosts aid to districts by more than $200 million and pre-K funding by $68 million...' NJ Spotlight--Op-Ed: The True Assessment Opportunity Presented by End of the PARCC Era By reconceptualizing assessment, we can develop a system that is diagnostic and provides feedback to educators and parents about their students in real time...' Star Ledger--N.J. schools are going to war over state funding. Should they just raise taxes instead? Before Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his second state budget address Tuesday, thousands of educators and students are expected to march on New Jersey’s capital with a message: Don’t cut our funding unless you’re ready for the consequences...' StarLedger--This is how Republicans want to overhaul school funding in N.J. Republican state lawmakers unveiled a new proposal Monday to revamp public school funding in New Jersey, calling for a dramatic increase in state money for special education while decreasing aid for low-income students and English-language learners...' The Record--Bill to Test Later Start Times at High Schools Moves Forward New Jersey high schools could see later start times under still-moving-through legislation...' Education Week--1.7 Million Students Attend Schools With Police But No Counselors, New Data Show As policymakers call for more school police in response to safety concerns, a new analysis of federal data shows that many students don't have access to other kinds of staff necessary for safety and support—staff like school nurses, social workers, and psychologists...'
3-1-19 Education in the News
NJ Spotlight--Could Registry of Adverse Reactions to Vaccinations Separate Fear from Fact?
No parent wants to endanger their child, but anxiety about inoculations lingers despite scientific evidence to the contrary...'
NJ Spotlight--New Jersey’s Grassroots Reform Groups Coalesce into Loose Coalition Groups that came together during the 2016 presidential elections or cut their political teeth on the state’s 2018 midterms are pushing on with reform agendas...' Star Ledger--Career and Technical Education prepares our students for jobs that haven’t even been created yet, N.J. commissioner says In the Garden State, hundreds of teachers, administrators, and school counselors involved in Career and Technical Education (CTE) serve more than 179,200 secondary and postsecondary students. We at the New Jersey Department of Education join educators and students across the nation in celebrating Career and Technical Education Month® this February: highlighting the values of high-quality career-pathway programs in vocational, charter, traditional high schools that prepare students for postsecondary success...'
Associated Press (via Philadelphia Inquirer)--DeVos proposes federal tax credits to advance school choice The Trump administration renewed its push for school choice on Thursday with a proposal to provide $5 billion a year in federal tax credits for to scholarships to send students to private schools, apprenticeships or other educational programs...' Asbury Park Press—Schools Across New Jersey Will Fight State Aid Cuts in Trenton School officials in Brick, Toms River and other districts across New Jersey will protest in Trenton next week, to fight for more state aid...' New York Times--Where Camels, Goats and Pigs Do the Teaching Green Chimneys, a school on a farm outside of New York City, is in the vanguard of using animals to help special-needs children learn...' |
The Special Education Task Force Report was released in November 2015. GSCS, a Task Force member, looks forward to discussion on this important topic under the Murphy administration. See below for a link to the report. RELATED LINKS
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