Mark Zuckerberg paid out $100 million to fix Newark’s schools. Millions have been spent on consultants. Probably lots more charters too, free to push out kids they don’t want.
But couldn’t some of Mark’s millions be spent to clean this high school and bring in an exterminator to get rid of vermin?
Remember that a hot new superintendent was hired by the state to overhaul Newark’s schools? Why can’t she guarantee a clean, safe school to the kids?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I watched the show Brick City on the Subdance Channel and really liked Cory Booker. I thought here is a mayor that really wants to change things and do whats right for the citizens of Newark. I got the impression that he was not going to jump on the reform band wagon. Either I was wrong or I shouldn’t underestimate the power of a 100 million dollars.
kb, I take no pleasure in reporting this: Cory Booker is beholden to the charter industry. K-12’s former chairman and current board member, Andrew Tisch, is one of Booker’s biggest supporters:
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2012/07/virtual-cronies.html
Virtual charters have arrived in Newark, even though they have been an unmitigated disaster around the rest of the country. Why?
You tell me…
Has our drive for improvement pushed our common sense out the window? A school represents values and beliefs, whether intentionally or not. We talk about student readiness to learn and teacher preparedness to teach. What if we first prepared a school for teaching and learning?
If the school is not clean or without working facilities, the values and beliefs of that school is clear: students and teachers are not at the forefront of the efforts. The basic hierarchy of needs calls for shelter and warmth, followed by order and safety. At the very least, these needs must be met in a school. If the reform efforts really intend to make difference in teaching and learning, a higher level of needs must also be addressed- tending to relationships and having a sense of belonging. We know that learning is contextual and occurs in networks.
These are basic human needs. Period.
We must get the schools ready for teaching and learning before we start reforms that intend to improve teaching and learning. Without that readiness, reform efforts will fail.
Please look into the Union City, N.J. public schools and an article in 9 Feb. NY times by David L. Kirp titled, “The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools.” As a progressive, constructionist public school educator for over 45 years, I found it uplifting.
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What’s wrong with us in this country?
What next? Workhouses for the poor?
No, just jail, a la Dickens. See the school to prison pipeline in place in Mississippi. The feds are now investigating. Don’t worry, private prisons are being set up next to the privatized “public” schools.
I wrote an education reform plan for both school districts and higher education. Both are decidedly different in their approach. It starts with some history as we need to know where we are starting from before we can know where to go. Under the plan, EVERY school would be highly maintained, up to date and have the best equipment available and the schools would not be able to divert the money for other purposes. If you would like a copy of the plan, send an email to mrpebble1@hotmail.com. Comments are welcome.
Throwing money at a problem without a great plan never works. A great idea, that has had thoughtful analysis, with differing opinions at the table, including representatives from each and every constituency, both inside and outside of the issue, with a carefully developed implementation plan does work…when and if there is money to support it. Looks like they may have gone about this the wrong way..so far.
Superintendent Anderson announced today that the school would be closed. Problem solved?
That is the reformer solution to a school with problems. Don’t fix it, close it. What they reveal is they don’t have any ideas about how to help schools, just close them.