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NJ Spotlight--Explainer: How the SDA Was Built — and Became Scandal-Ridden
New Jersey’s Schools Development Authority is mired in controversy over its CEO’s hirings and firings. But the SDA has a history of troubling activities
The New Jersey Schools Development Authority was created with the best intentions: to completely fund construction and renovation in 31 of the state’s poorest school districts. But over the past two decades, the SDA and its predecessors have been plagued by political misconduct that is putting its future — and constitutionally mandated mission — in peril.
Carly Sitrin | April 15, 2019
NJ Spotlight--The List: NJ Schools that ‘Underachieve’ in Serving Free Breakfast to Students
The top 10 high-poverty schools in New Jersey that serve breakfast to fewer than 20 percent of eligible schoolgoers
Colleen O'Dea | April 15, 2019
NJ Spotlight--Op-Ed: NJ Should Seize Opportunity to Step Away from Graduation Tests
A recent court ruling gives the state a chance to move toward ‘better forms of assessment, quality and fairness’
A recent Appellate Court ruling has opened the door for New Jersey to take a step away from discredited high school exit exams and toward greater education quality and fairness for all.
On December 31, 2018, the court struck down Christie-era regulations that forced students to take and pass PARCC tests in order to graduate from high school. However, the underlying New Jersey law requiring high school exit testing is still in effect.
Lisa Guisbond and Julie Borst | April 15, 2019
Star Ledger--The top 50 elementary and middle schools in N.J.'s state ratings
How can you compare the performance of elementary and middle schools schools with vastly different resources, serving completely different populations?
It’s not easy, but New Jersey is trying.
Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com and Carla Astudillo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| Posted Apr 14, 7:01 AM
Star Ledger--Murphy must own the SDA fiasco | Editorial
Currently, there is an internal inquiry of the hiring practices and payroll management at the Schools Development Authority, the agency still tasked with upgrading schools in our poorest communities despite its legacy of Jersey-caliber depravity.
https://www.nj.com/opinion/2019/04/murphy-must-own-the-sda-fiasco-editorial.html
Star-Ledger Editorial Board| Posted Apr 14, 6:45 AM
NY Times--Cursive Seemed to Go the Way of Quills and Parchment. Now It’s Coming Back.
Nearly two dozen states have reintroduced cursive instruction since 2010, when the Common Core standards dropped a requirement that it be taught in elementary schools
Nearly two dozen states have reintroduced cursive instruction since 2010, when the Common Core standards dropped a requirement that it be taught in elementary schools.CreditCreditPeter Stevenson for The New York Times
While cursive has been relegated to nearly extinct tasks like writing thank-you cards and signing checks, rumors of its death may be exaggerated.
The Common Core standards seemed to spell the end of the writing style in 2010 when they dropped requirements that the skill be taught in public elementary schools, but about two dozen states have reintroduced the practice since then.
Emily S. Rueb| April 13, 2019
Chalkbeat--Are teachers unions helping or hurting schools? Here’s what the newest research tells us
Two new studies paint a divergent picture of whether teachers unions contribute to better schools.
One finds that states with stronger unions saw more of the money earmarked for education actually reach classrooms, which in turn helps student learning.
Another shows that weakening unions in Wisconsin led to increases in the share of college students training to be teachers, potentially reducing teacher shortages.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2019/04/15/teachers-unions-schools-wisconsin-funding-research/
Matt Barnum| Aprile 15, 2019 - 1 hour ago
Politics K-12 (Education Week)--School Integration Champions Say Broad Support on Capitol Hill Is Possible
Can advocates for school integration leverage local control as a winning argument in Congress? The answer to that over the long term could be key to some Democrats' biggest, and perhaps one of their most aspirational, policy goals in Washington.
Andrew Ujifusa on April 14, 2019 8:09 AM
