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NJ Spotlight--Interactive Map: Cost of Education in Each School District, 2017-2018
Typical NJ public school district spent almost $16,000 per pupil. Total cost of educating each child was 40 percent higher when spending on busing, pensions, benefits, other costs are considered
Colleen O'Dea | August 12, 2019
Star Ledger--How much do teachers make? Here’s the typical salary for every N.J. district
The typical New Jersey teacher made $68,985 last school year, but new state data shows school districts and charter schools have a wide range of median salaries.
Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com and Disha Raychaudhuri | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| Updated Aug 10, 2019; Posted Aug 10, 2019
Star Ledger--Waking up teens too early is over for 5 N.J. high schools. The law says so.
Some New Jersey high school students will soon be able to sleep in on school days with the best possible defense: It would be illegal to start school any earlier.
Gov. Phil Muphy on Friday signed a law that requires the state to experiment with starting high school after 8:30 a.m. in five yet-to-be-determined schools.
The change comes after years of advocates pushing for later high school start times because of research showing major health benefits for teenagers. Schools must voluntarily apply to the state Department of Education to be considered for the four-year trial (it’s unclear how soon it would begin).
Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| Updated Aug 10, 2019; Posted Aug 9, 2019
The Record—These Unions Gave $3.8 Million in Secret Donations to NJ Governor’s Group
Two unions, the NJEA and SEIU, gave a combined $3.6 million to Governor Murphy’s dark money group, New Direction, New Jersey, northjersey.com has found
Ashley Balcerzak| August 12, 2019
Press of Atlantic City--Schools worry how changes to federal food assistance may affect free lunches
A federal proposal to change eligibility rules for food assistance benefits has drawn concerns from New Jersey legislators, childhood hunger advocates and school officials.
CLAIRE LOWE Staff Writer| August 11, 2019
New York Times--To Graduate, File a Fafsa, More High School Seniors Are Told
More states are adding a graduation requirement for high school seniors: filling out the college financial aid form known as the Fafsa.
Ann Carrns| Aug. 9, 2019
Edutopia--Reducing the Stigma Around Student Mental Illness—A Day at a Time
Driven by high rates of youth suicide and depression, some states are now providing the legal backing for students to take a ‘mental health day.’
‘Mental health days’ now join the flu, stomachache, and common cold as excusable absences in schools in Oregon and Utah.
Legislation passed this summer in Oregon will allow students five excusable mental health days in a three-month period. In Utah, permissible illnesses were expanded in 2018 to include mental illnesses in addition to physical illnesses—reports The New York Times and the Associated Press (AP).
The data shows a sizable number of U.S. students could benefit if other states pass similar laws. A 2017 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found nearly a third of all high school students had experienced significant periods of sadness and hopelessness within the past year, and 17 percent had contemplated suicide—both percentages represent a significant increase in the last decade.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/reducing-stigma-around-student-mental-illness-day-time
Nora Fleming| August 9, 2019
The Atlantic--‘Popular’ Kids Aren’t That Special
They do play a role in setting a school’s norms—but kids’ parents and close friends have more sway.
In school, “popularity” is a slippery concept, with kids falling in and out of it for no apparent reason. The hierarchies of middle and high school can be as mystifying years later as they were at the time.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/08/popular-high-school/595738/
Joe Pinsker| Aug 8, 2019
