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NJ Spotlight--Murphy Pledges ‘More of the Same,’ a Focus on Schools, Transit, Finances
In a sit-down with NJ Spotlight, the governor lists his first-year achievements and challenges, and the big issues the state must tackle
After a little more than a year in office, Gov. Phil Murphy says not to expect many major new initiatives from his administration and instead to expect him to build out “more of the same.” By that, he means investment in things that the middle-class cares about — schools, transit, and New Jersey’s fiscal position.
Lee Keough | April 1, 2019
NJ Spotlight--Sweeney Proposes Switching Teachers to Cheaper Healthcare Plans
Senate President maintains there would be savings for workers and for government
Senate President Steve Sweeney on Friday proposed switching teachers from their current healthcare plans to lower-cost coverage now enjoyed by state government workers.
Brenda Flanagan | NJTV News | April 1, 2019
Chalkbeat (via Star Ledger)--Charter schools get a quarter of city’s school budget, so it’s asking taxpayers for $2.7M more
Newark’s new schools chief has big plans for the district’s $1 billion budget — but he needs your support.
Patrick Wall | Chalkbeat Newark| Updated Mar 30, 2019; Posted Mar 29, 2019
Star Ledger—Op-Ed-We need to engage more kids in STEM, especially those without wealthy parents, education advocates say
March in New Jersey is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Month, a time to celebrate progress in both our history and our ongoing work to foster our “Innovation Economy.” The reason to celebrate is clear: the Bloomberg U.S. Innovation Index consistently ranks New Jersey in its top five, and for good reason.
Andrew Zwicker and Laura Overdeck| Star-Ledger Guest Columnist| Posted Mar 29, 2019
The Record—Experts React to Our Investigation of Charter Schools
Education experts and teachers’ unions weighed in on social media when we published our investigation of New Jersey charter schools. Here’s what they said.
The Reocrd| Apirl 1, 2019
Politics K12 (Education Week)--Education Advocates to SCOTUS: Leave Citizenship Out of Census
Next month, the Supreme Court will hear a case determining whether it's okay for the Trump administration's Census Bureau to include a question about citizenship on the Census 2020 form.
The message to SCOTUS from a group of education advocacy organizations: Don't let it happen.
Alyson Klein on March 29, 2019 12:27 PM
The Hechinger Report--How gaps in content knowledge hold students back
The Knowledge Map project helps districts identify content gaps and close them
In Baltimore City Public Schools, where about 80 percent of students are black, educators have long tried to incorporate African-American culture into their teaching. In a recent review of the curriculum, however, district leaders discovered that while students spent a lot of time reading about the African-American experience, they read too few high-quality texts, and the majority of the content is focused on things like police brutality, oppression and slavery.
“We never had the opportunity to celebrate the rich culture,” said Janise Lane, executive director of teaching and learning at Baltimore City Public Schools.
That’s changing now, thanks to a districtwide effort to systematically close gaps in what students learn – not just about the African-American experience, but across the entire curriculum. The tool that helped identify the gaps in the first place is called the Knowledge Map, developed at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy based on the value of content knowledge.
https://hechingerreport.org/how-gaps-in-content-knowledge-hold-students-back/
Tara García Mathewson| March 28, 2019
