Quality Public Education for All New Jersey Students

 

8-10-16 Education in the News

NJ Spotlight--Profile: Giving More to Children in Struggling Newark Neighborhoods

Twenty years after founding Project Re-Direct in Newark to give more opportunities to underserved children, Sharon Berry is adding a high-tech element

Who she is: Sharon Berry is the founder and unsalaried president of Project Re-Direct Youth and Family Services, which this year marks its 20th anniversary helping children in struggling Newark neighborhoods to accelerate their education, enhance their social skills, and build their physical and mental health.

That's not all. Project Re-Direct has just launched a STEM Initiative -- science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education -- to give inner-city children the sort of access to tech skills readily available in wealthier areas.

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/16/08/09/profile-giving-more-to-children-in-struggling-newark-neighborhoods/

Joe Tyrrell | August 10, 2016

The Press of Atlantic City--Did You Know? A School's Design Can Improve Academic Success

 (StatePoint) In recent years, policymakers have focused on how to improve student performance, scrutinizing factors like school day start times and the nutritional value of school-provided meals. However, the basic design and configuration of schools and classrooms can also have a major impact on student success, and this fact is now getting its due attention.

The classroom environment can impact a child’s academic progress by as much as 25 percent in one year, according to a UK study at the University of Salford. Armed with a growing body of evidence of the link between school design and student performance, architects are altering their ideas accordingly.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/online_features/education/did-you-know-a-school-s-design-can-improve-academic/article_5adefe94-874b-5e75-9639-fef81c63c0c6.html#facebook-comments

Posted: Wednesday, August 10, 2016 1:00 am | Updated: 4:32 am, Wed Aug 10, 2016.

 

The Record--Pharma companies get tax breaks to locate in N.J.

Allergan Sales, the U.S. subsidiary of the Ireland-based pharmaceutical giant, was approved Tuesday for state tax breaks of $58.2 million over 10 years to consolidate its four New Jersey locations into one site in Madison.

Also Tuesday, a Westchester County-based drug testing company was approved for a $3.7 million state tax break to relocate to Paramus.

The state Economic Development Authority approved Allergan's application for Grow NJ tax breaks that it said would keep 1,019 workers in the state, and add 300 full-time jobs. Allergan has operations in Parsippany, Jersey City, Rockaway and Bridgewater. It wants to consolidate those operations, and is considering two sites: a 431,500-square-foot site in Madison, or a 344,280-square-foot location in Lansdale, Pa.

If the company chooses the Madison site, Allergan is expected to invest more than $103 million at Giralda Farms in Madison, site of the former estate of Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge. The EDA says keeping Allergan in New Jersey is expected to bring a net benefit to the state of more than $384 million over 20 years.

To take advantage of the Grow NJ tax breaks, Allergan would have to give up $15.2 million in tax incentives earlier awarded to its subsidiaries Forest Laboratories Inc. of Jersey City and Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Parsippany, the EDA said. Allergan has more than 7,500 employees in 20 locations in the United States.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/pharma-companies-get-tax-breaks-to-locate-in-nj-1.1642232

By KATHLEEN LYNN| Staff Writer | The Record| August 9

 

NY Times--Facebook Helps Develop Software That Puts Students in Charge of Their Lesson Plans

Facebook is out to upend the traditional student-teacher relationship.

On Tuesday, Facebook and Summit Public Schools, a nonprofit charter school network with headquarters in Silicon Valley, announced that nearly 120 schools planned this fall to introduce a free student-directed learning system developed jointly by the social network and the charter schools.

Rather than have teachers hand out class assignments, the Facebook-Summit learning management system puts students in charge of selecting their projects and setting their pace. The idea is to encourage students to develop skills, like resourcefulness and time management, that might help them succeed in college.

“As parents and kids and teachers get access to this type of learning, I think more and more will want it,” Diane Tavenner, the co-founder and chief executive of Summit Public Schools, said in a telephone interview.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/10/technology/facebook-helps-develop-software-that-puts-students-in-charge-of-their-lesson-plans.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Feducation&action=click&contentCollection=education®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

NATASHA SINGER and MIKE ISAACAUG. 9, 2016