Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week
Book Review: This Is Not a Test, by José Luis Vilson
Let me start with the easiest part of this review:Buy and read José Luis Vilson's This Is Not a Test.@TheJLV is one of the better known teacher-bloggers around, and a prodigious tweeter. He asks hard questions and gives little quarter when it comes to issues of race and education (although I've noticed he also has greater patience with those who are willing to engage in a sincere, respectful dialo
AUG 08
EXCLUSIVE: Newark Teachers Union's Joe Del Grosso, In His Own Words
I really didn't think I'd be interviewing Joe Del Grosso yesterday.When I reached out to my contacts in the Newark Teachers Union, I was looking for a response from them regarding the news, first reported by the estimable Bob Braun, that a Newark parent group, PULSE, was pushing a federal investigation of the state-run school district's restructuring plan, One Newark.As I wrote in a series of brie
The gentrification of Camden's schools Part II: Love is all you need
gentrification—noun 1. the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.In Part I of my interview with Camden educator, Keith Benson we talked about his views on the state takeover, what his students face on a daily basis
AUG 06
The Gentrification of Camden's Schools Part I
gentrification—noun 1. the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses.Since public educators have been largely excluded from the education 'reform' agenda, it's up to bloggers and others on social media to tell our side
Cami’s Newark school bus plan: Volunteers needed to keep kids safe.
Cami Anderson, the state-imposed administrator of Newark schools, has developed a shuttle bus operation to move children around the city to meet the demands of her “One Newark” plan to shut down neighborhood schools and launch new charter and other privatized schools. The plan calls for “voluntary” parent and other patrols and relying on businesses, […]
AUG 11
Manipulating test score release: “First, you’ve got to get mad!”
Why is it important to write about Cami Anderson’s decision to manipulate the release of the latest results of state test scores? Here is why: Imagine your life, your livelihood, is based on a set of numbers over which you have no or, at best, very little control. Depending on how those numbers go, you […]
AUG 10
Why is Cami blocking access to test scores?
Results of this year’s administration of the state NJ Assessment of Schools and Knowledge (ASK) tests have been delivered to the central Newark administration–but Cami Anderson, the state-appointed schools superintendent, has blocked school principals and other building administrators from seeing and analyzing them. While building administrators in other school districts–including those in Essex C
