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NJ Spotlight--Sweeney Seeks Local Support for Public-Worker Benefit Reforms
Senate president says state’s fiscal problems are hampering ability to properly address issues concerning NJ Transit, lead contamination
Saying New Jersey has run “out of time” to address its major fiscal problems, Senate President Steve Sweeney urged local government leaders yesterday to fully support his proposal to cut government costs by changing public-worker retirement and health care benefits.
Speaking to a packed room at the New Jersey League of Municipalities conference in Atlantic City, Sweeney (D-Gloucester) said the state’s strained finances are now hampering its ability to respond to serious challenges, including the declining reliability of New Jersey Transit and rising concerns about lead pollution in drinking water.
https://www.njspotlight.com/2019/11/sweeney-seeks-local-support-for-public-worker-benefit-reforms/
John Reitmeyer | November 21, 2019 | Budget
Philadelphia Inquirer--With financial incentives and extra support, Philly and Pa. plan to recruit more teachers of color
Plagued by a teacher shortage in general and the nation’s lowest rate of teachers of color, Pennsylvania education officials Wednesday announced a program to recruit, train, and keep a more diverse force of educators.
The program, Aspiring to Educate — the first of its kind in the nation, Education Secretary Pedro Rivera said — will provide free or reduced tuition at Community College of Philadelphia and Temple, Drexel, West Chester, Arcadia, and Cabrini Universities, as well as mentoring support. It will be piloted in Philadelphia with support from the Philadelphia Youth Network and the Center for Black Educator Development.
https://www.inquirer.com/education/pennsylvania-black-teacher-diversity-philadelphia-20191120.html
Kristen A. Graham, Updated: November 20, 2019- 4:41 PM
NY Times--He Wanted to Be a Pro Basketball Player. He Became a Teacher Instead.
Jeff Duncan-Andrade, an associate professor at San Francisco State University, is driving a public conversation challenging traditional assumptions about how to reform schools.
Sometimes it is the child who hates school who cares most about fixing its failings.
Laura Pappano| Nov. 21, 2019, 5:00 a.m. ET
Chalkbeat--It’s not just teachers: How counselor diversity matters for students of color
In a recent study, a high school counselor offered this honest description of the uncertainty of her job: “Maybe later, I’ll start to see kids come back and they’ll be like, oh this helped or that helped,” she said. Still, “Sometimes I leave and I’m like, I’ve done nothing.”
Now, new research captures exactly how much of a difference a counselor like her can make — and it’s substantial, particularly for low-income students.
https://chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2019/11/20/school-counselors-diversity-research-college/
Matt Barnum| November 20, 2019
Edutopia--As Teen Stress Increases, Teachers Look for Answers
Seventy percent of teens say stress is a major problem. Research backs that up—and teachers are beginning to offer solutions.
When nonteachers ask me with genuine curiosity, “What’s new with teens?” I usually tell them that every school year, it seems like more of them end up in the hospital.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/teen-stress-increases-teachers-look-answers
Andrew Simmons| November 20, 2019
