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Star Ledger—Op-Ed: Legislators need to spend more on pre-K and college, N.J.'s 2 education leaders say
The two state education leaders say $25 million in the proposed budget was earmarked for expanding preschool to new districts, however legislature now plans to reallocate 20 percent of that cash to wraparound programs in districts that receive preschool aid. This change would mean that fewer children can access public preschool, a critical building block.
New Jersey prides itself on its excellent education system — and by most measures, we have one of the best in the nation.
Still, our commitment to the bookends of that system — preschool and higher education — must be improved if we want to continue this tradition of excellence.
Lamont O. Repollet and Zakiya Smith Ellis| Star-Ledger Guest Columnist| Updated 2:18 AM; Today 12:35 AM
Star Ledger—Op-Ed: Here’s 1 way school districts can save millions of your tax dollars
Mark Finkelstein says public schools now have a terrific opportunity to reclaim a substantial amount of taxpayer money that could be used to hire more teachers and/or to stabilize the school tax rate.
In the next fiscal year, the tuition at two private schools for students with disabilities in New Jersey will cost taxpayers $116,603, and $118,532 per year to educate a child with autism.
Mark Finkelstein| Star-Ledger Guest Columnist| Posted Jun 25, 1:42 PM
The Record—Can Parents Opt Out of New Jersey’s New LGBTQ Curriculum Law?
A Hackensack Board member says she wants to take her child out of the upcoming lessons, but that may not be an option.
Hannan Adely| June 26, 2020
Education Week--Why Standardized Tests Aren't Working for Teachers or Students
Many of us in education have deep misgivings about the role standardized tests play in our schools. As a principal, I’ve had a front-row seat to incidents that illustrate why we should be seriously concerned. Let me tell you about one of them.
https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2019/06/19/why-standardized-tests-arent-working-for-teachers.html
Margaret Pastor| June 19, 2019
Politics K-12 (Education Week)--When Lawmakers Tackle Barriers to Teaching and Learning in Piecemeal Fashion
State lawmakers are keen to address narrow issues or challenges they see in the K-12 world in many instances, but they often don't take the chance to enact sweeping education policy changes to drive school improvement and remove barriers to opportunity.
That's the main conclusion in a policy report from the Center for Mental Health in Schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. "State Legislation to Address Barriers to Learning and Teaching: A Sample of 2018 Annual Summary Reports of Legislation for Prek Through High School"
Andrew Ujifusa on June 25, 2019 2:48 PM
The Atlantic--The Yale Happiness Class, Distilled
The psychology professor Laurie Santos delivers the “shortest possible crash-course version” of the university’s most popular course ever.
The most popular class in the history of Yale University was inspired by a paradox: Even when people, conventionally speaking, succeed—get into a top college, make lots of money, or accumulate prestige and accolades—they are often left feeling unsatisfied.
It’s a problem that may be particularly acute at a place like Yale, but the lessons of the class, called “Psychology and the Good Life,” are widely applicable—they address fundamental features of the human mind that make it difficult to appreciate things that seem like they’d be great.
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/06/yale-happiness-class/592477/
Joe Pinsker| Jun 25, 2019
NPR--The Darker Side Of Screen Time
Emotional outbursts. Lost sleep. These are signs that your kids are spending too much time with digital devices. Here's what you can do about it.
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/20/734532122/the-darker-side-of-screen-time
Anya Kamenetz| June 26, 201912:03 AM ET
