GSCS Email-Net 11-16-10
Nov. 10th Education Forum Focuses on Quality Education
Quality education was the focus of the GSCS-NJ School Development Council Education Forum on November 12.
Thanks to our talented and knowledgeable moderators, Tom Moran (Star Ledger editorial page editor and columnist) and John Mooney (NJ Spotlight's founder and education writer) and to our top-notch panelists, the conversation at the forum stayed on track and was refreshing in that the talk remained on quality education issues. This was GSCS' hope and plan, and we are rewarded that the plan worked.
Feedback on the forum was extremely positive all the way around. Now we all need to keep this conversation on the real issues going, in real time-at home, and in Trenton.
Please make sure you take the time to read the report on the Forum discussion immediately below, you will see some interesting points. As always, we look forward to hearing from you for your input.
FYI - it is our understanding that the legislature plans to "get into" education reform in December. Be ready. Stay tuned. . . .
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In the Thick of It:
In the Face of a Host of Challenges,
Staying Focused on Quality Education
Presented by the Garden State Coalition
of Schools &
The NJ School Development Council
Nov. 10, Douglass College Campus Center
They came to talk. Sometimes they agreed. Sometimes they had to agree to disagree. And in one case they even agreed to continue the conversation on their own. Butwhatever the topic, the seven panelists at the November 10th Education Forum came prepared to face the big issues in NJ education and present their organization's position.
And the over 130 parents, community members, school administrators and superintendents in attendance at the panel discussion-jointly presented by the Garden State Coalition of Schools and the NJ School Development Council-were there for a rare sit-down between a diverse group of school stakeholder representatives that also included a now-rare sit down of the NJEA and the Christie administration.
For their willingness to dive into these topics and their grace under fire, GSCS thanks Executive Directors Richard Bozza, NJASA; Marie Bilik, NJSBA; Brenda Considine, NJ Special Education Coalition; Carlos Perez, NJ Charter School Association; and Vincent Giordano, NJEA; as well as Gregg Edwards, policy director for the Christie administration and currently interim chief of staff at the Department of Education. GSCS Executive Director Lynne Strickland rounded out the panel.
| GSCS Meets With Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver |
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GSCS was pleased to have time with Speaker Oliver and two of her key staffers on Monday, Nov. 15 to talk about quality education concerns of our members.
The discussion highlighted a number of issues, including: revenue for public education; special education support and general education program needs; charter schools expansion; tenure; merit pay; salary caps; extracurricular fees; consolidation; moving school elections to November; costs of health benefits, including the relatively low (compared to high double-digit increases in recent years) increase in benefits' fees for this school year.
GSCS appreciates the welcome sense of an "open door" projected by the Speaker and looks forward to having a continued conversation on the issues. |
| NJ Education in the News |
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Visit the GSCS websitefor more information
Nov. 16, 2010
The Record: "Christie: No approval for new school superintendent contracts until statewide review"
NJ.com: "Anti-bullying Bill of Rights sails through N.J. Assembly, Senate education committees"
Asbury Park Press: "Exclusive investigative (week-long) series on New Jersey's $3 billion special education system"
njspotlight.com: "Q&A Spotlight: Superintendent Headhunter"
"School board and salary are among a candidate's key questions-as is location, location, location."
Star Ledger: "Seventy-four districts apply to join N.J. interdistrict school choice program"
". . . Before the new law was signed, only 10 districts statewide participated in a pilot version of the public school choice program. The recession, coupled with cutbacks in state aid and districts' need for more revenue has spurred this boost in interest, said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools . . ."
njspotlight.com: "Dicing the Data on Charter Schools"
"What do the numbers say about charter school performance? It all depends on who you ask"
Nov. 11, 2010
njspotlight.com: "New Jersey's new Interdistrict Public School Choice program should have a lot more buses rolling from district to district this coming September."
". . . Gregg Edwards, a policy advisor to Gov. Chris Christie, said today that the growth of inter-district choice could also prove an impetus for more consolidation and sharing among districts. 'This is a way of achieving consolidation that we talk about in what I call a velvet hand approach,' he said at a forum hosted by the Garden State Coalition of Schools. 'I think it could revolutionize the whole approach in how we make schools more efficient.'
Nov. 9, 2010
The Record: Editorial: "No Tools in the Box"
". . . This isn't problem solving. It's problem dumping. Unless the end goal is to close every town library in New Jersey or start a tax revolt, lawmakers need to focus on property taxes and hammer out some reasonable reforms . . . "
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