Quality Public Education for All New Jersey Students

 

2-18-19 Education in the News

Star Ledger--N.J. schools will finally teach about LGBTQ history. Here’s what kids would learn.

When New Jersey schools begin teaching students about LGBTQ history, it will be easy enough to say “Walt Whitman was a great poet, who, by the way, also happened to be gay.”

But that’s not the point of a new state law, and the stakes are so much higher than a token reference, historians and advocates say. If done right, New Jersey will help set the national agenda for teaching kids about gender and sexuality throughout history and across all subjects, exposing students to a past that’s largely been ignored.

https://www.nj.com/education/2019/02/nj-schools-will-finally-teach-kids-about-gay-history-heres-what-kids-would-learn.html

Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| Updated Feb 15; Posted Feb 16

 

 

Star Ledger--N.J. just avoided a major high school graduation crisis, but its testing mess isn’t over yet

High school juniors and seniors in New Jersey who have already passed the PARCC exams or other standardized tests can breathe a sigh of relief. Sophomores and freshmen? The state will get to you later.

Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration on Friday agreed to a compromise that will leave current graduation testing rules in place for high school seniors and extend those rules to juniors, averting a potential crisis for about 170,000 students. Under the agreement, those students can still use passing scores on PARCC, the SAT, ACT, or a series of other exams to prove they’re ready to graduate, so long as the court approves the deal.

Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| Updated Feb 16; Posted Feb 15

 

 

Press of Atlantic City—Op-Ed: Region’s first recovery high school must blend support and academics

South Jersey has more than its share of addiction and related problems in the opioid crisis, so the opening next week of its first recovery high school is good news indeed.

Coastal Prep High School will serve a small number of students from the eight counties in the southern half of the state with substance abuse or mental health disorders. It will provide treatment and support at Cape Assist facilities in Wildwood and education through state e-learning classes within the Middle Township School District.

https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/opinion/editorials/region-s-first-recovery-high-school-must-blend-support-and/article_7bbc02f9-56a6-5059-bc6d-6a4cdc502016.html

Press of Atlantic City Editorial Board| February 17, 2019

 

 

Hechinger Report--TEACHER VOICE: Three classroom trends gain ground

A Teacher of the Year reflects on patterns for replication

I have been teaching humanities to ninth-graders at Codman Academy Charter Public School in Boston for the last 12 years.

It’s the middle of my first year back in the classroom after a year away as the 2017 National Teacher of the Year. While on my journey, I observed three patterns in particular that I’d like to share: Teacher leadership, social and emotional learning, and fellowship.

https://hechingerreport.org/teacher-voice-these-three-classroom-trends-are-gaining-ground/

Sydney Chaffee| February 18, 2019