Democrats Vow to Fight, But Who’s the Boss?
Sweeney and Oliver discount influence of Norcross and DiVincenzo as power brokers
Buoyed by Election Day victories, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) yesterday vowed to stand up to Republican Gov. Chris Christie, but found themselves answering questions about whether they would be answering to South Jersey power broker George Norcross II and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo.
Two days after retaining 24-16 control of the Senate and gaining one seat for a 48-22 majority in the Assembly, Sweeney and Oliver pledged to push a Democratic agenda that would include job creation programs; higher taxes for millionaires; and healthcare, education and environmental initiatives.
They bristled when the first question asked at their joint press conference was...
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lame Duck And The Education Reform Agenda
Governor Chris Christie says the lame duck session which officially starts tomorrow, is the time to advance his education agenda so a child’s zip code doesn’t dictate their academic destiny, but his proposals don’t have the full backing of State Senate President Steve Sweeney.
Christie’s education transformation task force released...
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read the LAT sub-committee report on local candidate recommendations here.
Read responses to the WWPEA Legislative Election Candidate Survey (in alphabetical order):
Assemblyman Patrick J. Diegnan Jr.
Candidate for NJ Senator Gloria S. Dittman
Senator Shirley K. Turner
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read the LAT sub-committee report on local candidate recommendations here.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NBC Nightly News Interview with HSN teacher Judy Cinnamond:
Click here...
NBC Nightly News Interview with HSN teacher Judy Cinnamond (additional footage):
Click here...
NBC Nightly News Interview with HSN teacher Judy Cinnamond (interviews with students and colleagues):
Click here...
The High Cost of Low Teacher Salaries By DAVE EGGERS and NÍNIVE CLEMENTS CALEGARI
Published: April 30, 2011
WHEN we don’t get the results we want in our military endeavors, we don’t blame the soldiers. We don’t say, “It’s these lazy soldiers and their bloated benefits plans! That’s why we haven’t done better in Afghanistan!” No, if the results aren’t there, we blame the planners. We blame the generals, the secretary of defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff. No one contemplates blaming the men and women fighting every day in the trenches for little pay and scant recognition. And yet in education...
Good Morning Everyone-
HAPPY NATIONAL TEACHERS’ DAY!!!!!
Attached you will find an email (click here) that was sent to me via the Government Relations Office. Many teachers have asked me what is the NJEA doing to combat Gov. Christie’s attack on educators. So I found some information and if you have time today, NATIONAL TEACHERS’DAY/Week, please read the email.
Again thanks for all you do for our schools and community.
Julie Norato
WWPEA –LAT Chairperson
We Must Change the Narrative About Public Education: Guest Blog by Diane Ravitch
As the protests in Wisconsin dominate national news, and the White House and Congress gear up for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, currently called "No Child Left Behind"), we have a unique opportunity to put to rest some of the inaccurate narratives that have come to dominate debates around education policy, and to lay the foundations for a set of policies that can achieve our broader societal goals for children.
Myth #1: The Achievement Gap is Widening
Central to the current focus…
Sharron Angle Boldly Defends Public School Teachers: They Are Over-Worked And Under-Paid
Over the past few months, conservatives have beat a steady drum accusing public servants, particularly public school teachers, of being a blight on the nation. Republicans governors from across the county, along with a chorus of Fox News personalities, have scapegoated teachers as overpaid workers who receive too many benefits on the taxpayers’ dime.
However, public teachers have found an unlikely ally: failed Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R-NV). Speaking to a class at Dutch Fork High School in South Carolina recently, the staunch conservative told students that public school teachers are dedicated public servants who are generally over-worked and under-paid for their profession:
Need to Know, February 11, 2011: Ahead of the class
February 11, 2011
As the nation debates how to get the best performance out of students and teachers, Need to Know presents an hour devoted to success stories in teaching. The program highlights three dramatic stories of academic transformation – focusing on literacy, physical education and science education.
Jon Stewart Calls Out Fox News' Hypocrisy Comparing Teachers, Wall Street (VIDEO)
The Huffington Post Katla McGlynn
Updated: 03/ 4/11 09:56 AM
Thursday night's "Daily Show" featured Jon Stewart doing what he does best: calling out hypocrisy in the media. After a segment on the intensified battle between Gov. Scott Walker and Wisconsin unions, Stewart took a look at how Fox News was reporting on the story, specifically compared to how they covered similar threats to the Bush tax cuts and bailed-out bank CEOs' salaries.
Merit pay? Then give me perfect students Karen Lurie Calkins Media, Inc.
What if we paid doctors based on how well their patients recovered? OK, Dr. Welby, you may have tried your best to treat and make your patient, Joe Smoker, comfortable in his final days, but Joe still died of lung cancer; no payment for you! Yes, I know that 20-year old Jane was basically ignored by you, Dr. Kildare, but she recovered beautifully from the flu - full payment for you!
Hey wait, you say, this makes no sense! Every doctor will vie for those patients who have great genes, who are younger, who have taken care of themselves, and who have the most minor ailments. No one will want to treat the more difficult cases, and forget doctors consulting with each other - it's every medical professional for himself!
Braun: N.J. Supreme Court to take its turn on deciding constitutionality of Christie's school funding
Published: Wednesday, March 23, 2011, 7:20 AM
Bob Braun/Star-Ledger Columnist
TRENTON — The decision by Judge Peter Doyne was clear: Gov. Chris Christie failed to comply with the state Constitution by cutting school aid by $1.6 billion. The implication for the future also is clear: New Jersey is heading for a constitutional showdown of historic proportions.
"The lines have never been so sharply drawn," said Paul Tractenberg, a Rutgers law professor who has devoted his long career to the intersection of education and constitutional law. "Clearly, we are at the orange, if not the red, warning level light."
Doyne was appointed by the state Supreme Court to answer the question of whether funding cuts allowed the state to maintain the constitutionally required "thorough and efficient" school system as measured by the ability of students to meet curricular standards.
Education roundtable: Three reformers making change from the ground up
February 11, 2011
Last week Alison Stewart sat down with three education reformers who are making change from the ground up.
Dr. Pedro Noguera is a professor of education at New York University and also spent five years teaching in public schools in California and Rhode Island. Zakiyah Ansari is a mother of eight children and parent leader at the Coalition for Educational Justice in New York City. And Dr. Susan Szachowicz is the principal of Brockton High School and helped spearhead the literacy initiative that turned it from a failing school into a national model.
Judge Blocks Wisconsin Law on Union Bargaining
By MONICA DAVEY
Published: March 18, 2011
CHICAGO — A judge issued a temporary restraining order on Friday that prevents Wisconsin’s new law cutting collective bargaining rights for public workers from taking effect, at least for now.
The decision, issued by Judge Maryann Sumi of the Dane County Circuit Court, temporarily bars Wisconsin’s secretary of state from publishing the controversial law, one of the procedural requirements for it to come into effect in the state. Publication had been expected late next week, but Judge Sumi’s ruling delays that until at least March 29, when she plans to hold a full hearing on a lawsuit that questions the validity of the collective bargaining law based on the speedy manner in which it was carried out earlier this month.
An appeal is possible even before then.
Opponents of the measure said they hoped the decision was but the first of many that would ultimately undo legislation that has split the state and drawn tens of thousands of demonstrators to the state capital over a matter of many weeks. Supporters of the measure, however, said the judge’s decision was merely a blip, certain to be overturned as various legal efforts make their way fully through the court system.
“This legislation is still working through the legal process,” said Cullen Werwie, a spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker, the Republican who led the measure to cut bargaining rights for public workers, including teachers. “We are confident the provisions of the budget repair bill will become law in the near future.”
No Dentist Left Behind-Read about it!
NJEA's Vince Giordano’s interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC
New Jersey, don't throw the towel in on public education
Published: Thursday, February 24, 2011, 6:06 AM
This is an Op Ed piece by former Governor Florio.
“Now, we have this voucher initiative to further divide us into those who will be ready for the knowledge-based economy and those who will be left to fester in failing schools from which we have siphoned off the most motivated students. All of this because we are not up to the challenges of fixing our entire educational system, leaving many of our children permanently behind the curve. I believe we are better than that.”
New York Times
Op-Ed Columnist
Wisconsin Power Play
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: February 20, 2011
Last week, in the face of protest demonstrations against Wisconsin’s new union-busting governor, Scott Walker — demonstrations … continued through the weekend, with huge crowds on Saturday…
Why bust the unions? As I said, it has nothing to do with helping Wisconsin deal with its current fiscal crisis. Nor is it likely to help the state’s budget prospects even in the long run: contrary to what you may have heard, public-sector workers in Wisconsin and elsewhere are paid somewhat less than private-sector workers with comparable qualifications, so there’s not much room for further pay squeezes.
The New Yorker Magazine
A Reporter at Large
Covert Operations
The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama. Who are the Koch brothers and what’s their connection to the Tea Party?
by Jane Mayer August 30, 2010
February 23, 2011
Op Ed By Mark Erlich
Wisconsin is only the most dramatic site of a broader strategy of absolving Wall Street and scapegoating public employees and their unions. While there are legitimate and critical public policy issues about education reform, spiraling health costs, and pension liabilities at a time of state and municipal budget deficits, why is the fault laid at the feet of teachers, police, and firefighters? Today’s pension obligations are the product of massive investment losses, not excessively generous public pensions that, in fact, average about $19,000 a year. For that matter, a 2010 Economic Policy Institute study showed that, controlled for educational achievement, public sector workers actually earn less than their private sector counterparts.
NJ News and Op Ed
Acting N.J. education chief founded consulting firm hired to overhaul failing Newark schools
Published: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 7:00 AM Updated: Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 7:18 AM
NEWARK — A consulting firm hired by Newark’s mayor to overhaul the city’s failing schools was founded a few months ago by Christopher D. Cerf, the state’s acting education commissioner, and still lists his Montclair home as its New Jersey address.
NJ.COM
Op. Ed.
Braun: Christie, administration defend, disparage N.J. data to bolster schools agenda – February 21, 2011
TRENTON — New Jersey’s school wars have erupted on a number of fronts. School finance. Charters. Vouchers. Tenure. What Gov. Chris Christie calls reform — but critics call destroying the public school system — has exploded into a strident and emotional conflict. And could degenerate into a constitutional crisis if the state Supreme Court orders the governor to restore school aid.
Star Ledger
Acting N.J. education chief unveils Christie's plan to reform teacher tenure, introduce merit pay
Feb. 16, 2011
PRINCETON — Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf today unveiled the Christie administration's education reform proposal, saying it takes on "the last frontier of school reform — the third rail" by changing teacher evaluations and tenure, by ending seniority rules that require newest teachers to be fired first, and by introducing merit pay.
"Supposing is good, but finding out is better." - Mark Twain