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Star Ledger--State asked to stop charter school from opening amid allegations of fraud
Education officials in a Union County city are calling on the state to stop the opening of a charter school with ties to the North Jersey Turkish community, claiming the school’s application included “forged and fraudulent” petitions purporting to show community involvement and support.
The Linden Board of Education has filed a lengthy petition with the state Department of Education asking that approvals already secured by the Union Arts and Science Charter School (UASC) be voided and a hearing be held on that and other issues surrounding the validity of the application
Jean Rimbach , Staff Writer, @jeanrimbach 6:03 a.m. ET May 1, 2017
Philadelphia Inquirer--Good kids, bad decisions: Why Camden schools are suspending fewer students
Camden one of many districts trying alternatives to suspensions
Camden High principal Alex Jones can point to a few stories that make him believe his school’s new approach toward suspensions is making a difference, like one recent day when a teacher told him about a ninth-grade student who was acting out in class.
A year ago, the student’s behavior might have triggered an automatic visit to the office, possibly angering the student further. Had the student yelled or thrown something, he might have faced a two-day suspension or worse.
Instead, the teacher asked the student to write about what was happening in his life -- an assignment for which he received class credit. The student penned a long letter about his mother’s death that week, which the teacher had known nothing about.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/camden/Camden-suspensions-school-students.html
Allison Steele, Staff Writer @AESteele | Updated: May 1, 2017 — 5:00 AM EDT
Philadelphia Inquirer--Philly region a welcoming place for female school superintendents
Bridget O’Connell’s first day as superintendent of the Palisades School District in upper Bucks County, she got a lot of questions about the kids – not the 1,700 students she would be overseeing as the top administrator, but the four children at home who know her as Mom.
“’Wow, you’re a superintendent and you have four kids?’” O’Connell recalled well-wishers asking. She added wearily, “That always seems to be the question: How do you do it?"
Retro moments aside, the Philadelphia region has moved faster than Pennsylvania -- and indeed the nation -- in growing the roster of female school superintendents. Of the 61 districts in Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, and Delaware Counties, 21 – or 34.4 percent – are run by women. The statewide percentage is 28.8.
Across the river, in Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester Counties, they're in charge in 36 percent of the 113 districts, compared with 31.4 percent for all of New Jersey.
Nationwide, women head 22.4 percent of districts, according to AASA, the School Superintendents Association.
Kathy Boccella, Staff Writer @Kathy_Boccella | Updated: April 28, 2017 — 6:07 PM EDT