The children of Newark have limitless potential. They are beautiful, intelligent, ingenious and creative — each with a unique contribution to make to our world. Developed properly, their boundless talent can secure the future of our city, state and country. Yet in Newark’s public schools, as in many other urban districts, our children’s endless talent [...]
In the past few weeks, President Barack Obama delivered two major speeches touting education reforms. He invited teachers to the Rose Garden and pushed the House to pass an emergency spending bill saving thousands of school jobs. This week, his education chief is traveling on a cross-country bus tour to highlight school success stories.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story appears in the September edition of Inside Jersey. After the magazine went to press, Congress passed a bill approving $10 billion in aid for school districts nationwide to put laid-off teachers and other school staff back to work. President Obama quickly signed the measure into law. New Jersey is expected to [...]
Targeted by Christie, New Jersey public school educators want respect, clarity on the future. It is June 4 at David Brearley High School in Kenilworth, with less than two weeks to go before finals. Outside, heat rises from the pavement in steamy waves. Inside, it’s air-conditioned, but students and staff alike seem slightly feverish with [...]
Last week’s passage of a school district bailout bill should have elicited a joyful noise from Democrats and their allies, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.
The Education Department kicked off its first ever “Bullying Summit” this week with a speech by Secretary Arne Duncan about the need “to break the cycle of bullying.” But if Duncan really wants to stop the biggest bully in America’s schools right now, he’ll have to confront his boss, President Obama.
Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education “statistics” have names: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, whose stories make up the engrossing foundation of WAITING FOR SUPERMAN. As he follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, academic growth, Guggenheim undertakes an exhaustive review of public education, surveying “drop-out [...]
President Tries to Sway Unions, Civil Rights Groups to Back Merit-Based System WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama on Thursday delivered a fresh call to hold teachers accountable for student achievement, defending his administration against complaints from unions, civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers.