NJ's literacy solution: longer school day for kindergarteners?

My blog has been quiet of late. Due to some health problems, I've had to scale back a bit on my workload. Nothing life-threatening, mind you, just enough for me to reprioritize for a little while. But I'm on the mend, and there's no better day to start back up than New Year's Day.

Courtesy: Upworthy

This week marks the end of the current NJ legislative session. Newly elected officials will soon be sworn in, but there's a bill coming before the Assembly Education Committee next week that has me scratching my head. 

A4779, sponsored by Ams. Reed Gusciora (D-15) and Asw. L. Grace Spencer (D-29) says: 

a. The Commissioner of Education shall declare an educational state of emergency for a school district in which, for at least 75 percent of the schools in the district, 65 percent or more of the students in the school to whom a State assessment was administered have not achieved proficiency in the English language arts/literacy subject area of the State assessment. 

b. Upon declaring an educational state of emergency pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the commissioner is authorized to distribute supplementary State aid to the school district, which shall be in addition to the State aid payable to the district pursuant to P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.) or any other law. The supplementary State aid shall be used for the specific purpose of establishing a mandatory after school program for students in grades kindergarten through three, the duration of which is two and a half hours from the end of the school day, which is designed to increase student proficiency in English language arts and literacy. The supplementary aid shall also be used for establishing voluntary literacy programs for students in other grades, including after school programs and summer programs. 

c. When an educational state of emergency is declared for a school district, the executive county superintendent of schools shall hold a public meeting of interested stakeholders for the district including, but not limited to, parents, students, teachers, school administrators, community leaders, and business leaders. The purpose of the meeting shall be to discuss community involvement and potential corrective measures to address the district’s low proficiency rate in English language arts and literacy.

d. A school district that establishes programs to increase student proficiency in English language arts and literacy pursuant to subsection b. of this section shall continue to implement the programs for a minimum of three years or for as long as the school district meets the criteria of subsection a. of this section, whichever is longer. (emphasis mine)

I have some real concerns about this bill, but before I get into them, let me be clear: I have no beef with Asm. Gusciora or Asw. Spencer. I don't know anything about the origins of this bill. I don't know Asw. Spencer, but Asm. Gusciora serves part of my county. He supported my assembly run, fiercely advocated for marriage equality, and generally supports causes I agree with. He's also a fellow member of the 'Wrath of Christie' club. My criticism is not aimed at them, but at the Christie administration and the NJDOE, who continue to hold our large, mostly poor/minority/urban school districts hostage, which forces workaround bills such as this one into existence.  

Here are my concerns:

First, I don't know about you, but whenever I read the words "state of emergency" as it pertains to public education, my ed 'reform' radar starts beeping. Newark, Camden, Jersey City and Paterson have all fallen victim to one definition or another of "state of emergency" which has resulted in one scenario: complete or partial state takeover, reduced funding, and the expansion of charter schools. None of which has been proven to help all students achieve.

Second, how do we define a "state of emergency"? If we are basing it solely on a state standardized test, which in this case is the PARCC, then we are making a false assumption. According to former NJ Assistant Education Commissioner Bari Erlichson, the PARCC test is not diagnostic:

Erlichson (at the 1:00 mark): In terms of testing the full breadth and depth of the standards in every grade level, yes, these are going to be tests that in fact are reliable and valid at multiple cluster scores, which is not true today in our NJASK. But there’s absolutely a… the word "diagnostic" here is also very important. As Jean sort of spoke to earlier: these are not intended to be the kind of through-course — what we’re talking about here, the PARCC end-of-year/end-of-course assessments — are not intended to be sort of the through-course diagnostic form of assessments, the benchmark assessments, that most of us are used to, that would diagnose and be able to inform instruction in the middle of the year. 

These are in fact summative test scores that have a different purpose than the one that we’re talking about here in terms of diagnosis. (emphasis mine)

Third, the tests were designed for students to fail. NJ's own reading expert, Ryder University Professor Russ Walsh, examined the PARCC sample questions and found them to be several grade levels above that being tested. And since the Common Core Standards are directly tied to the PARCC, we would be subjecting little children to more and more developmentally inappropriate instruction. Throw in the fact that many high poverty schools also have a higher percentage of English Language Learners than their wealthy and mostly White suburban counterparts, and you have a recipe for a manufactured "state of emergency."

Fourth, extending the day by two and a half hours for 5-7 year olds? Why? In Finland, the top performing education country in the world, first graders attend only a half day of school and get 15 minute breaks between each lesson. As a teacher of full-day kindergarteners, I can tell you firsthand that by about 1:30 pm, most are shot (this holds true for many first graders and some second graders). And when many K's get that tired, they don't slow down. Quite the opposite: they tend to ramp up. They're tired of sitting and paying attention. Their little brains are tired of thinking and concentrating. They need to play. But thanks to the Common Core, they're being pushed to learn more at an earlier age, and that's not a good thing. A 2015 Boston Globe article reported:

In two reports published earlier this year, the Boston-based nonprofit Defending the Early Years took aim at the kindergarten standards in ELA (focused on literacy at this age) and math. The first report singled out the expectation that kindergartners should be able to “read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.” 

Emergent-reader texts include repetitive lines like, “Brown bear. Brown bear. What do you see?” or, “The fat cat sat on a mat.” These are no trouble for some 5-year-old kindergartners and even some 4-year-olds, says Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an emeritus professor of early-childhood education at Lesley University and the report’s lead author. But, Carlsson-Paige adds, many normally developing kids won’t read these books on their own until age 7. “When we require specific skills to be learned by every child at the same time, that misses a basic idea in early childhood education,” she says, “which is that there’s a wide range to learning everything in the early years.” 

Take walking as an example. An average child might learn to walk at 1 year, while some will be walking at 8 months and others might not take their first steps until they’re 15 months. They all end up walking just fine. 

What does earlier reading in kindergarten predict for reading proficiency and academic success in later grades? Not much, according to the report, which cites study findings that by fourth grade, children who were reading at age 4 were not significantly better at reading than their classmates who’d learned to read at age 7. The report also points out that in Finland and Sweden, kids don’t even start formal schooling until they are 7 years old. Yet, Finnish and Swedish teenagers regularly trounce their American counterparts in international tests of reading, math, and science. 

Given the wide developmental variation in young learners and the evidence that early reader advantages fade, the report concludes that a kindergarten literacy standard will simply crush the spirits of the late bloomers, linking school with “feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and confusion.” (emphasis mine)

Since the bill requires a minimum of 3 years of implementation or "as long as the school district meets the criteria", my guess is that if it's passed, this clause will be forgotten and "3 years" will stretch into a permanently extended school day to compete with the longer school day of many charters.  

Fifth, where will the money come from? Gov. Christie has defunded NJ public education to the tune of $6 billion. Newark charter schools are bleeding the public school system of millions of dollars. It's so bad that Charter Cheerleader/Superintendent Chris Cerf (former NJ Education Commissioner), has ordered administrators to make drastic budget cuts, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is pleading with current Education Commissioner David Hespe to halt the expansion of charters to keep the district from drowning...

I'm not suggesting that we leave struggling readers to fend for themselves, but we cannot continue to throw taxpayer dollars at programs that are not research-based and developmentally appropriate. Why not fund the schools according to the law and let the administrators decide where and how the money would best be spent? Ah, but that assumes those who work with students every day know what's best, and we can't have that now, can we?

The Assembly Education Committee is chaired by Asm. Patrick Diegnan who has been a staunch supporter of public education. My hope is that the committee will listen to the voices of those who know what works in public education and revise or kill this bill.

Debunking Reformy Logic One Tweet At A Time Part 3

This one's personal

As I reported in Part 1 of this series, I recently got into a Twitter debate with Laura Waters, Derrell Bradford and Ryan Hill which turned into an all-day affair, with Save Our Schools NJ, Jersey Jazzman and a few other pro-public education advocates chiming in. It all started with this Tweet:

It was a 3-pronged discussion focusing on:

1. Part 1: Waters' continuous, illogical reasoning 
2. Part 2: Hill's assertions that:
   - charter schools are underfunded compared to district schools
   - every child should have choice but only when that choice is a charter school
3. And here Part 3: Bradford's assertions that:
   - I'm a teacher, therefore I am not an expert on public education
   - I'm a white, suburban woman so I should "say nothing"

Who is Derrell Bradford?

Currently the executive director for the 'reformy' group, NYCAN (The New York Campaign for Achievment Now), his previous stints include two 'reformy' NJ shops: the billionaire-funded Better Education for Kids (B4K), and Excellent Education for Everyone (E3).

Bradford's 'reform' pedigree also includes many public speaking gigs including one wherein he claimed in a rather snarky tone to be an expert on education because he watched the movie, "Dangerous Minds". I kid you not. I, along with many, many others saw this video online and shared it before it mysteriously disappeared from public consumption—and with good reason. It's an Excellent Example for Everyone (E3) of the truly 'Dangerous Minds' behind the 'reform' movement.   

Jersey Jazzman wrote about Bradford back in 2014 which included this Twitter exchange:

And this:

Bradford's sole experience in anything remotely having to do with education was working at the now-a-ghost-of-its-former-self voucher lobbying shop, Excellent Education for Everyone, or E3: first as a director of communications, and then as Executive Director. E3's mission was to bring "choice" in the form of opportunity scholarships vouchers to New Jersey's urban children. 

Bradford is always happy to use his personal story to sell the idea of "choice": he claims he just wants for every child what he himself had. What he fails to acknowledge is that he went to an extremely expensive and elite private school (not that there's anything wrong with that) that spends twice per pupil what the local public schools spend. Yet he questions whether New Jersey schools spend too much on "bells and whistles," and the opportunity scholarships vouchers he promoted wouldn't have come close to providing children with the "hoity-toity" (his words) education he enjoyed. Derrell Bradford's "personal story" has nothing to do with his preferred policies.

... 

Bradford's service on [Gov. Christie's teacher evaluation] task force produced a disaster of a report, which led to a disaster of a teacher evaluation scheme (AchieveNJ, aka Operation Hindenburg). But it also opened up new possibilities in reformy advocacy -- for Bradford, that is. When the Christie administration needed someone to serve on the secret charter school review panels of 2010, they called Bradford. When they needed someone to take a cheap swipe at then-NJEA President Barbara Keshishian, they called Bradford:

(My note: The video originally embedded in Jazzman's post is no longer visible. It now looks like this:)

Hmmm... is someone cleaning up their image? I do hope so because in this video, he is quoted as saying this about then NJEA President Barbara Keshishian:

I go up against the president of the teachers union in New Jersey all the time, right? She's got a bad haircut and terrible fashion, right? 

Way to keep it classy. 

Who is really listening?

So, when Bradford said this to me:

I let him know who I listen to:

• The students who have been denied choice because they didn't win the charter school lottery
• The students who've been denied their choice of school in the disastrous One Newark enrollment plan
• The outraged parents whose children are sent to schools all over Newark also as a result of One Newark
• The parents in NJ's state-controlled school districts who've been denied choice because they have no say in how their local school district is run
• The students who've marched in the streets to protest the closing of their school of choice: their neighborhood school
• The voters of Newark who overwhelmingly elected an educator as their mayor as part of a city-wide referendum against the Christie, Cami, Cerf, Hespe education 'reform' blitzkrieg

These people have been denied choice and voice in a democracy and that is somehow something to be celebrated? That is good for all students? That will ensure all students are magically lifted up out of poverty even though the 'reform' agenda starves public schools, and will never, ever provide students with the choice to attend an elite private school such as the one Bradford attended?

And as for the 'privileged power structure' comment, what exactly does he mean? I don't have billionaires at my beck and call throwing me money to set up shop whenever and wherever. I don't have direct lines of communication with the governor that will ensure I get a seat on panels and committees that help shape education policy. And I'd sure like to compare our paystubs because I have a feeling his has a few more zeros and commas than mine.

Sit down and shut up

But what really got to me was this:

It's the epitome of the 'reform' industry's opinion of education professionals: We don't care how many degrees or years of experience you have, just sit down and shut up because we (with little to no education experience) know what's best for kids. And as for that 'choice' thingy that suburban kids have so much of? The majority of students in wealthier suburbs choose to attend their local public school. So, why are so many students in our state controlled districts being denied that choice?

And people wonder why I use SHOUTY CAPITALS and bold, italic, underlined text in my posts. Oy!

I freely admit I don't know what it's like to attend a school where the overwhelming majority of students suffer the effects of poverty. I don't know what it's like to live in a neighborhood that is unsafe; where I couldn't go outside to play; where violence is a frequent occurrance. I don't know what it's like to be born with a skin color that automatically puts me at a disadvantage. 

But here's what I do know: 

I know what it's like to be homeless, to go to school hungry, to steal food because there was none in the house, to not have proper clothing to wear or medical intervention, to not have parental support and supervision, to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, to attempt suicide, to experience abuse and neglect, to go home to a war zone every day, to go to sleep at night and wonder if I'd even wake up the next day. While my family wasn't poor on paper, it was very dysfunctional. My father earned a good living but squandered it on his addiction. 

I know what it's like to go to a strict, regimented Catholic school where drill and kill were all we knew. Where art, music and PE were non-existent and recess was withheld as punishment. Where kids were hit, slapped, locked in closets and put in garbage cans in the name of discipline. Where class sizes often topped out at 35, 40 and even 50 students. Where there were no special education, minority or ESL students, and those who didn't toe the line were there one day and gone the next. I didn't know which was worse: home or school. But for whatever reason, my sisters and I were blessed with academic minds. We all excelled at school, we are all artists and teachers, and we all have numerous scars from the work we did to heal the wounds that threatened to consume us. 

So, while I may not know how it feels to be a high-achieving student (which I assume Bradford was), possibly living in a dangerous neighborhood and attending a school where the majority of his classmates suffer the debilitating effects of poverty, I have my own history, my own hole that I had to crawl up out of, that has profoundly shaped my views on public education. And unless education 'reformers' have a recipe to address all the baggage that many students in their target districts carry with them to school every day, their efforts will never, ever succeed. 

Bradford, my sisters and I made it. We are the success stories. But we are in the minority. Not every person has the ability to pull themselves up out of debilitating situations. Not every person has the mental and emotional strength to keep pushing forward despite seemingly insurmountable odds; to never give up. So when those kids don't win the golden ticket that gets them a seat in the latest miracle charter school, they damned well better have an excellent public school to fall back on. Unfortunately, that is simply not the case. The students who are left behind in the name of 'choice' simply become collateral damage as the 'reform' machine marches on.

So, when Bradford accuses me of being part of a 'privileged power structure', I have to laugh because I prefer to stand with the people who are standing up and fighting back because they have been denied the right to choose their neighborhood public school because—ironically—people like him choose to impose their 'power structure' on them.

If that makes me 'privileged' then so be it. I guess the only 'privilege' we have is that our freedom of speech hasn't been taken away—yet.

One Parent Investigates #OneNewark

This is what parents in the state controlled Newark Public School District must resort to now that their children's democratic right to a "thorough and efficient education" has been denied. 

Since its inception, embattled former Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson's ill-conceived One Newark plan that was supposed to provide more school choice and 'fix' 'failing schools', has been an unmitigated disaster. 

From increased segregation, to siblings being bussed to different schools all over the city, to punishing schools that serve a higher population of special needs students, to actually denying parents the right to send their children to the school of their choice, this bureaucratic nightmare has been roundly rejected by parents and students. And despite an Empirical Critique of One Newark by Rutgers University's Dr. Bruce Baker and doctoral candidate Mark Weber (aka. Jersey Jazzman) highlighting the deep flaws and inequities of the program, it has been 'damn the torpedos and full speed ahead' at 2 Cedar Street.  

But Newark's families never let up. Their vociferous protests were the driving force behind Anderson's departure. And with her, they assumed would go One Newark. But such is not the case. As a new school year looms and a new superintendent (former NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf) takes the helm, school registrations began yesterday. 

The process is anything but easy, and accurate information is hard to come by. So, Frankie Adao of the Newark Parent Power Movement (formerly the Newark Parents Union) went under cover this week to infiltrate the pre-school registration process to deliver that info to parents who don't have time to spend hours waiting in lines only to be spoken to by robotic NPS employees with fake smiles and rehearsed responses. You can read his full report on his blog here. Following are the highlights. All emphasis mine:

As I approached the entrance to the courtyard, a security guard greeted me pleasantly. Mind you, in the past I would get thrown out or not even let in. Luckily a little weight gain, a beard and hat did the trick. Going incognito is now what parents have to do to investigate the district and see what is going on. I felt like a secret agent about to infiltrate enemy territory. 

... 

The classroom was arranged like a Motor Vehicle Center. You had to put your name on a list at a long desk separating the people from the registration stations. I entered a fictitious name. I was number 42, although there appeared to be more than 42 people seated. I overheard some of the parents saying, “This is ridiculous!” “Why can’t I go right to the school and register?” “Why are they making us go through this whole process?” I gently and quietly leaned over to the mom sitting next to me and said, “It feels like the DMV.” She told me this was her third time to the center and was told that she would need to come down in person to find a match for her child. As with the tension from the patrons who are at the will of the Division of Motor Vehicles clerks, so were these parents!  

... 

I could hear parents were very upset. Their children were not being placed where they wanted them to be educated. One staff member told a parent, “If you are going to talk to me in a calm manner, I will speak with you, but if you get loud I will not!” The parent said, “I am pissed off and want my kids to go where I say they should go, not you!” This is typical of the upset and angry conversations that have been going on between Newark parents and the Newark Public Schools central office staff for the last year and a half. [Chief Talent Officer] Vanessa Rodriguez walked out of the office, passed the upset parents and headed down the hall to the Pre-K enrollment class I originally was in. I followed right behind her. She relieved the staff member and began assisting a bilingual family looking for placement. In the 30 minutes I stood there, I did not hear one single parent called to a station.  

... 

[Mayor Ras Baraka's Chief Education Officer] Dr. Lauren Wells entered the room. I knew she was there to get the info and I wanted to know as well... All the district staff immediately perked up and automatically went on alert. I moved closer to get within earshot of what was being said. Dr. Wells was asking all the same questions my parent team was messaging me to find out: How was the process going? How were families being treated? How many available seats were opened in the district? What did the numbers look like? 

... 

Dr. Wells was then met by [Executive Director of Community Affairs and Engagement] Ruben Roberts. He was dressed in his best linen suit and he immediately gave the canned district responses. There was a bulletin board by the Pre-K room with postings that showed how many seats were available in each school. It was hard to take a snapshot of it as security and NPS district employees were guarding the info. Dr. Wells asked if the list was accurate with numbers and Roberts said that it changed frequently. She asked if the information was online for the public and he said, “The list is just for us, the numbers are changing all the time.” When Dr. Wells asked if families were being helped, he responded, “They are being placed, but it may not be where they hoped to be placed.” 

Dr. Wells and I walked out through the courtyard of the Enrollment Center together. I again told her that I was here to get a report for the team and parents we serve. I said, “Looks kind of organized, better than it did in previous enrollment sessions.” Dr. Wells responded, “Organized…Organized Chaos.” We agreed with a smile. I wished Dr. Wells a good day, got in my car, flipped my #PARENTPOWER t-shirt the right way and headed home.

This would never happen in one of New Jersey's wealthy, mostly white suburban school districts where poverty isn't much of an issue. It would never happen where people have the power to write big checks to elect representatives who actually listen to them instead of party bosses and corporate raiders. Only in our poorest urban centers does the right to a 'thorough and efficient education' mean many times being denied access to neighborhood schools. I've said it before and I'll say it again, 'choice' does not equal 'access'. 

I have nothing but enormous respect for the parents and students of Newark who refuse to have their voices silenced. As Chris Cerf takes the helm, they will have to shift gears, but there is no doubt in my mind that they will never give in, they will never back down until all parents and all students in Newark are truly treated equally.

Follow the Newark Parent Power Movement on Facebook and Twitter @ParentPowerMov. Follow the Newark Students Union on Facebook and Twitter @NewarkStudents.

Newark Public Schools: Frying Pan to Fire

As part of an agreement reached between Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Gov. Christie to return local control of the city's public schools, yesterday the New Jersey State Board of Education, under the leadership of Christie-appointed Education Commissioner David Hespe, voted to appoint the former—and controversial—NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf as superintendent of Newark, following the controversial Cami Anderson's long-awaited resignation.

As thrilled as many of us in the education activist community are at seeing Anderson go, Cerf was her boss, so there's more than enough skepticism that things will change. But Baraka, an educator himself, ran and won on a platform of regaining local control. He's been an outspoken critic of Anderson and Christie's 'reform' agenda, so I have to believe that he truly has a plan. 

But appointing the uber-reformy Broad Book Club (as Jersey Jazzman calls it) Academy graduate Chris Cerf, not as an acting superintendent, but as a full-fledged super with a 3 year contract is not exactly the road to local control the citizens of Newark envisioned. And they voiced their displeasure earlier this week with a rally at City Hall. 

Photo courtesy New Jersey News 12

The state BOE voted 6-3 to approve Cerf with the Christie appointees voting in the majority. And the 'reformy' rhetoric was flying! Education activist and college student, Melissa Katz, attended yesterday's BOE meeting and reported on it over at Bob Braun's Ledger. The following is her transcript of the meeting. In an homage to the Common Core's close reading, my comments are in red.

Pearson defines Close Reading as:   

Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on the text itself empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. It also enables students to reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole. (PARCC, 2011, p. 7)

I've also highlighted words that are straight out of the 'reform' dictionary. Be on the lookout for them, they are the red flags of 'reform'.

Melissa's report:

Hespe on Cerf: "The education reforms under way in Newark must continue." (So, closing schools, flipping them to charters, firing staff, and underfunding public schools will continue. In other words, business as usual.)

“We are 20 years into the state operation of the Newark district and we’re at a very, in my mind, crucial period in time in our work with the community of Newark. (Indeed! The community is fed up.) Two weeks ago, I announced the departure of Cami Anderson as State Superintendent. We recognized her hard work on behalf of the children (Notice how many times he repeats this phrase. When all else fails, 'reformies' fall back to this one.) and people of Newark, and I truly believe that Newark Public Schools have made tremendous strides over past years under a number of series of innovative reforms and the earnest leadership of not only the district staff and the State Board, but also local educators who have I think made a difference. (Which educators is he talking about? The real ones who are fighting the reforms, or the business people now making beaucoup bucks as administrators?) The focus we should always remember is on how our vision for Newark schools will advance the best interest of children in Newark (Well, some of the children anyway—those who are lucky enough to win that golden ticket into a charter school and actually make it all the way through. The rest of Newark's children have sent a strong, clear, loud message that they do not want corporate-style 'reforms')— and that’s why whatever we do moving forward, the education reforms under way in Newark must continue (Again, business as usual.) and we must work with all folks in Newark: all parents, all educators, all community leaders to make certain that as we focus on providing parents with greater educational opportunities, improving instruction, and developing innovative programs (Closing and/or defunding schools, segregating students and firing staff are so innovative!) and establishing best practices in the classroom (Obviously without teacher input.), that they continue; but with the knowledge that all of these initiatives are dynamic in nature, they will be constantly improved, constantly be changed (Because nothing works better in education than constant change. As in the corporate world, ed 'reform' is all about churn, churn, churn), and sustained, and intensified.

“With that said, I think, I strongly – and I know its shared by board members – support the involvement of the community in educational decision making (Why now? Does Hespe finally realize he's lost the battle, and the only way to save face is to actually involve the community?), and I know that’s a key component of success of any school improvement initiative. It not only serves to bolster the commitment to make the hard decisions that are required over time to sustain these initiatives, but also help these initiatives be successful. Often, however, we see the tension between state operation in terms of developing and implementing a bold educational improvement agenda, and local control in terms of community engagement and buy-in. (Translation: The people didn't ask for and do not want your 'bold educational improvement agenda'—especially when your hand-picked superintendent thought it was beneath her to engage with the community.) These tensions create a challenge that can and must be resolved if the children of Newark are to continue to see the fruits of these reform initiatives, and the people of Newark are to see the economic and standard of living improvements that come with a skilled and educated workforce. (Education 'reform' alone will not fix poverty.) That’s why I was so pleased that the Mayor of Newark and the Governor of New Jersey came together to establish a shared vision for empowering the people of Newark to make decisions over their schools while sustaining and growing a culture of high educational expectations, accountability, and results in the City. This included the creation of the Newark Educational Success Board (Another layer of administration? How much will this cost, who is on it and who is paying for it?) that will be charged with developing a clear, specific pathway with appropriate timelines and benchmarks for return of local control to the Newark community. The panel will also examine the issue of capacity building at a district and school level with government, community, and neighborhood groups to ensure that the problems that led to state takeover of the schools never reoccur and decision making focuses always on what is in the best interest of children. Communication we know will continue to be key, and we must communicate fully and effectively to students and parents in the community throughout this pending transitional process (So, where the heck is Cerf? Why hasn't he made any appearances in Newark yet? Why hasn't he spoken to the press? The parents? The students? Anybody!).

“I also announced that Chris Cerf would be recommended to the State Board of Education as the next and likely last state superintendent for the Newark School district. I wholeheartedly endorse him to fulfill this unique roll. He has the integrity to focus on doing what is right for the children of Newark, (On what does he base this? Where is Cerf's resume? Why does he have more integrity than a superintendent with years of experience?) he has the strength to stand up to any corporate interests (What?! The audacity of this statement just floors me. Chris Cerf is the poster boy for corporate interest! Dear Lord, if there is but a smidgen of doubt in anyone's mind about Cerf's intentions, Jersey Jazzman has written a veritable enclycopedia on him. See here, here, here, here, here.), he has the organizational experience to manage this larger, dynamic change process (What proof does Hespe have? Cerf taught high school history for 3 years back in the Stone Age and he is not a certified school administrator.), he’s innovative, and a true problem-solver. (Again, where' the proof?) He understands the Newark public schools and initiatives, as well as the community. (emphasis mine)

I almost fell off my chair when I read that last line. How in the world does he make that statement with a straight face? Cerf lives in the uber-wealthy, mostly white, Essex County suburb of Montclair, and when he was acting ed comissioner, he rented an apartment in the uber-wealthy and even more white Somerset County suburb of Montgomery. As Jersey Jazzman reported:

Earlier this year, Cerf rented an apartment in Somerset County that is closer to his job in Trenton than the home he shares with his wife and children in Montclair. Cerf said he rented the apartment in Montgomery because the area was "charming" and the rent was "reasonable."

[Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union)] said the committee should be "insulted" by Cerf’s deception. The real reason for Cerf’s move, he said, was a need to get out of Essex County because of [Sen. Ron] Rice’s decision to block [his] nomination. The unwritten senatorial courtesy rule allows senators to block gubernatorial appointees who reside in the counties the lawmakers serve.

"If you had sat down and said ‘I moved because of Senate rules or senatorial courtesy or Senator Rice, and I had to get a residence somewhere else,’ that’s one thing," Scutari said. "For you to sit here and tell us you moved to be closer to work when you have a driver, I cannot accept that answer." [emphasis mine]

  

"He has the ability to work with the charter school sector." 

Damn right he does! Cerf is a charter cheerleader extraordinaire! Back in 2013, blogger Darcie Cimarusti reported on Cerf buddie, Steven Wilson, who was looking to open several charter schools in state-controlled Paterson: 

Seems that if you know the Commissioner [Cerf] and [Evo Popoff] his Chief Innovation Officer you not only get wooed to open a charter school, you get cash money to boot!  

... 

What's most frightening to me is that Wilson says his plan is to open a "cluster" of charters in Paterson. Paterson is home to 33 elementary schools, and four elementary academies.  Lots of room for Wilson to grab some market share, especially with Cerf and Popoff in his back pocket.
And let's not forget.  The people of Paterson knew NOTHING about this application until after it had been approved. This is being done TO the people of Paterson, not WITH them.  

... 

How does Cerf get away with approving charters without community input time and time again?
Here's what needs to happen.  

The NJDOE needs to release every single document related to how Wilson's charter and grant applications were reviewed, as well as every other application in those application rounds. This is the only way the NJDOE can demonstrate that Wilson was not given a charter school and a $150,000 grant just because he knows Cerf and Popoff. We also need to know who reviewed those applications, how the reviewers were selected, and how the ratings impacted Cerf's final decisions.  

If anybody thinks the expansion of charters is going to diminish under Cerf, I have a bridge to close for sell you.

"In short, he is uniquely qualified to assume this role and hit the ground running quickly and effectively. (Yes, because he was Cami Anderson's puppet master.) I was here 20 years ago when the state board of education voted to takeover the Newark Public Schools and appoint a state superintendent. Truly, I believe we are presented with great opportunity to only build on the progress, which I know firsthand over those 20 years is often slow, and often painful, that was made over each minute of that 20 year period, to foster the improvement of lives of school children throughout the district which we set out to accomplish many years ago. (Granted change takes time, but after 20 years of state control, the state had only themselves to blame for educational outcomes in Newark. But Christie would never admit that, so instead, he assigned Cerf and Cami to dismantle the system.) We must also recognize that this path has great opportunity for improving it... but it’s also fraught with danger: danger of allowing the problems that led to state takeover in the first place to return; danger of distracting us from our singular goal of making children’s’ lives better.

“We need strength, we need wisdom, we need integrity, we need compassion, and we need commitment to doing what is in the best interest of the children of Newark. (But apparently we don't need experienced educators and educational leaders.) For those reasons, I urge you to approve the nomination of Chris Cerf as the next state operated superintendent.”

The resolution was then read, and board members, one by one, made comments and casted their votes.

(Note: See Melissa's report on Bob Braun's blog for full comments made by board members. For brevity's sake, I list only their votes.)

Arcelio Aponte: No (Not a Christie appointee.)

Board President Mark Biedron: Yes (Christie appointee)

Ronald Butcher: No (Not a Christie appointee)

Claire Chamberlain: Yes (Christie appointee)

Joe Fisicaro: Yes (Christie appointee)

Jack Fornaro: Yes (Christie appointee)

Edythe Fulton: No (Not a Christie appointee.)

Dorothy S. Strickland: No (Not a Christie appointee.)

Andrew J. Mulvihill: Yes (Christie appointee)

J. Peter Simon: Yes (Christie appointee)

Reaction from the audience included:

Donna Jackson, parent activist in Newark: 

“This is a slap in the face of every child in the city of Newark. The vote today just told every child in Newark that we care more about contracts, getting our friends jobs, closing down schools, and falsifying data, than seeing that their future is bright. I think the elected officials that represent Newark that agreed to this tragedy should all take a deep look inside themselves to see if they really can say they care about the children in the city of Newark. The request of Mr. Aponte should’ve been honored enforced and voted on today. We have another three years of hell in Newark, and believe me, the fight and protests will continue. We will not be quiet, we will not sit still. No, we will organize; we will continue to push back. We will run Cerf out of Newark as well.”

Donald G Jackson Jr., Newark school board member:  

“They have drawn a line in the sand. We know where they stand. The New Jersey State Board needs to get a grip on reality — they can’t talk about local budgets and talk about how money is spent and let Cami [Anderson] spend money in wasteful ways on salaries and failed reforms. I am very disappointed, but not surprised. At the end of the day, if it weren’t a poor black and Latino district we wouldn’t have this issue in the first place.”

In closing

The only voice of sanity in this Greek Tragedy is Mayor Ras Baraka, and he's asking the people of Newark to take a huge leap of faith. But how much longer are they supposed to wait? How much longer will their children be corporate 'reform' guinea pigs? What requirements will the state attach to their return of local control? If One Newark stays, how much hope do they really have? If the expansion of charter schools continues, how much longer can the district survive? 

The tone will be set when and if Cerf ever shows up. I've seen him in action at State Board of Ed and NJEA meetings, and I would like to offer him this one piece of advice: Check your ego at the door, and as I always tell my students: Mother Nature gave us two ears and one mouth because we need to speak less and listen more.  

NJ FY16 budget: education death by a thousand cuts

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

On June 30th, Gov. Christie will no doubt sign the FY16 budget which includes this: 

Having already violated the state's School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) by underfunding NJ schools to the tune of $6 billion over the past 5 years, the governor, with the approval of the Democratic-majority state legislature, will once again pull precious resources from public schools to give to charters. 

The Education Law Center reports:

This budget leaves districts without any of the $1 billion increase they should have received had the SFRA been properly funded in 2015-16. 

The bottom line from this budget is another round of painful cuts to essential programs, staff and services for many underfunded districts across the state.
... 

[T]he legislators also adopted Governor Christie's proposal to strip $37.5 million from district budgets and give extra funding to NJ charter schools. According to an analysis by the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services, eight districts, including Paterson, Irvington, Trenton, Jersey City and Plainfield, must transfer from $500,000 to $2.3 million in extra funds to charter schools. Newark stands out as charters in the city will reap a $24.5 million windfall, a major reason why the district is facing a massive $50 million budget deficit. By giving Newark charters extra funding, the State-operated district must make even deeper cuts to teachers, courses, support staff and remedial programs for students in the district's public schools. (emphasis mine)

As a result, the district is looking to cut $20 million from the central office budget (not a bad thing), and $10 million from the teacher salary line item (not a good thing).

I don't need to spell this out. This is what Gov. Christie wants: death by a thousand cuts. If a district is this much in the hole, many parents are going to look at charters as a viable alternative. With their low class sizes and (arguable) success rates, many parents simply won't take the chance. So, where does that leave the public schools? As Julia Sass-Rubin of Save Our Schools reports:

This dramatic growth in the number of charter schools seats is coming at a significant price to local school districts, particularly as the charter schools are educating a much less challenging population of students, leaving the local public schools with a concentration of high-poverty, non-English speaking, and special needs students but without the resources they need to provide those students with a high-quality education. 

Local public schools are being gutted of resources and forcibly closed because of inadequate funding, yet the Christie Administration diverted $100 million more to charter schools this year and next year, than what is called for under the charter law. 

This truly is a social justice issue, as a small group of edupreneurs work with the Christie Administration to grow their revenue stream at the expense of local public schools. (emphasis mine)

While I've come to expect this from Christie, Cami, Cerf, Hespe and all the rest, I find it reprehensible that some of our Democratic leaders in Trenton have abandoned the party's core values by turning their backs on their constituents. Unfortunately, many are simply following marching orders from the party bosses who are close allies of the governor. But I wonder how they sleep at night knowing how much they've sold out the very people who voted them in to office. The public trust is broken. The number of Trenton legislators who can truly be counted on to look out for the welfare of the majority of our state's citizens is dwindling.

So, suburban taxpayers, why should you care? Let me put it to you this way: How would any of you feel if our taxpayer-funded public libraries, or any other publicly-funded agencies, suddenly started denying access to people based on their disabilities, socioeconomic status or the language they speak? How would you feel if a wealthy billionaire donated money to open a shiny, new library with all the latest bells and whistles, but you have to win a lottery to step inside? And your taxpayer dollars were diverted to that shiny, new library thus reducing the quality of services provided by your local library? And how would you feel if you managed to win one of those golden tickets only to be eventually told that you aren't the 'right fit' so you can't go there anymore?

This is what's happening in urban districts all across this state. Your tax dollars are being used to aid and abet the segregation of our state's highest-need school districts. And the FY2016 budget is only making things worse.

We cannot stay silent.

At a time when the Newark school district is bleeding money and students to support the rise of segregationist charter schools, this is not how I want my tax dollars spent. Taxpayers in the suburbs need to care because public education is about educating all students; not just yours, not just mine—all of them. As a society, as a nation, we are ultimately judged on how we treat the least of our brothers and sisters. In this budget, the state is turning its back on the least. 

If you don't want your tax dollars spent like this, if you believe that all students deserve access to a thorough and efficient education, call Senate President Steve Sweeney at (856) 339-0808, then call your state representative. The link to contacts is on the right. The budget has to be signed, sealed and delivered by Tuesday, June 30th, so don't delay.

Adding: The longer this continues in our urban school districts, the more I'm reminded of this movie:

This Week in Weird (Ed Reform) NJ—Part 2

This is a real publication

Holy moly! Just when I thought ed 'reform' in the Garden State couldn't get any weirder, all this happened in the past seven days. So, here's your one-stop shop for all the ed 'reform' news that's fit to print, whether it makes sense or not: 

• *5/23 Thousands of Newark students defied Superintendent Cami Anderson's threats of consequences and walk out of classes to protest her regime and demand return of local control and fair funding of their public schools. Sounds like that 'reform' plan of hers is going swimmingly well!
• 5/24 The Star Ledger posts yet another pro-PARCC shill piece (more on this below).
• *5/25 Newark's Central High School Principal, Sharnee Brown, risks her job by starting a petition on MoveOn.org calling for an end to the practices of Anderson's signature 'One Newark' plan that discriminate against the district's special education students.
• *5/28 Newark Mayor, and former Central High School principal, Ras Baraka calls on the citizens of his city to take back the school district from Cami, Christie and Co.
• 5/28 Gov. Christie says the Common Core State Standards aren't working, and vows to have parents and teachers involved in writing new ones. Wait, what? 
• 5/29 Before the ink is dry on Christie's CCSS speech, the Star Ledger posts a pro Common Core piece by the Center for American Progress's Daniella Gibbs Leger that, once again, touts the magical ability of education 'reform' to fix the devastating effects of income inequality, unemployment, underemployment, generational poverty and racial segregation.

* Special thanks to Bob Braun, whose superior coverage of all the 'reformy' goings-on in Newark is a must-read.

Whew! That's a whole lotta crazy packed into six days! And the education community wasted no time in responding:

• 5/28 Jersey Jazzman eviscerates Christie for his "screaming hypocrisy"
• 5/28 Peter Greene's response to Christie: "Big frickin' deal"
• 5/28 NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer: “If the governor is genuinely interested in new standards, the state must abandon the PARCC fiasco, which is taking a terrible toll on the quality of instruction and student learning in New Jersey,”
• 5/29 Peter Greene's response to Daniella Gibbs Leger: "I think cigarette companies do a better job of making a case for their [product]"
• 5/29 Sarah Blaine Tepper: "Chris Christie has a bridge to sell us"
• 5/29 Julie Borst: "We all deserve to understand, in the most transparent way, what [the CCSS] has cost us."

As for me? Well, there's not much more I can say about Christie and the Common Core that hasn't already been said. But, I take great umbrage with the propaganda the Star Ledger continually passes off as professional journalism. 

"But Marie", you say, "why bother? They aren't going to change their tune. Don't waste your time." But when the state's largest newspaper continues to spew illogical garbage like this...

But here's what this issue boils down to. If you're interested in racial equality, you have to go for the PARCC, imperfect as it may be. Why? Because it's the only game in town — and if we're going to have any hope of closing the achievement gap between poor, minority kids and their wealthier peers, we need this data to do it. (emphasis mine)

("The only game in town", oh right, because adequate school funding, housing, food, medical care, personal financial stability, job opportunities and safe neighborhoods would never, ever solve that problem. Only the bogus data from a deeply flawed test will.)

... When they insult the general public with ignorant statements like this...

The opt-out movement is sabotaging the data. Liberal-minded people who would normally be very concerned with helping underachieving kids are taking an anti-testing position that actually hurts those kids. In that respect — and in the degree of paranoia involved — it's similar to the anti-vaccination movement. And it may be just as damaging.

(Hmmm... "anti-vaccination movement"... where have I read that before? Oh yes, here. But at least they admit, albeit in a backhanded way, that Conservative-minded people really have no concern with helping underachieving kids.)

... I fall back on the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who must be rolling in his grave over what is happening to public education in Newark and other mostly minority cities around the country:

"In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Now, I don't consider anyone an enemy, but I will not sit back quietly when people and institutions that hold great sway and influence over large swaths of the general populace refuse to do their homework and, for whatever reason, disseminate information that is factually incorrect. I've taken a lot of shots at the Star Ledger and Tom Moran, and some may have been too snarky, but sometimes I feel like I'm living in an episode of the Twilight Zone. I can't imagine how the people of Newark feel.

When parents and students who want an excellent education resoundingly reject the carpetbaggers who swoop in to 'save' them in part by silencing their voices and excluding them from the process, I can't sit idly by. None of us should. When the state's largest newspaper refuses to listen to the citizens of the state's largest city, others have an obligation to do so. We all must continue to call out those who, for whatever reason, simply will not see what's happening before their very eyes. If not, we are part of the problem.

As for the rest of this week's events, time will tell how much—if any—of a seismic shift this all will bring. Mountains aren't moved in a day, but sometimes, when too much pressure builds up, this happens:

Mt. St. Helens, 35 years ago this month