Newark Student Protest Continues

A small group of Newark high school students continues to occupy the office of the State-appointed District Superintendent Cami Anderson.

They say they will remain until she meets with them or resigns.

Mayor Ras Baraka spoke sympathetically about the student protest:

“They’re obviously frustrated about not being able to have a voice in what happens around their own education,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said at a news conference outside of school district headquarters Thursday.

“As the mayor of this state’s largest city, I am also frustrated that I do not have a say-so in what is happening in the education of the children that exist and live in these communities,” he said.

At least eight students, who call themselves the Newark Student Union, seized Superintendent Cami Anderson’s office Tuesday night during a public schools advisory board meeting, and have remained on the floor where Anderson and other administrators have offices. They’re protesting Anderson’s leadership of the school district, including school building assignments and her support for charter schools.

The students claim the district is trying to “starve out” the Newark Student Union by purposely depriving them of food.

“For anyone tuning in right now, right now we’re giving a live stream explaining what’s going on. We have a food situation,” one student is heard saying in the background of the live stream. “They haven’t given it to us yet.”

Another student said the protesters are surviving on chips and candy they brought in themselves Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, a reader of the blog named Liz sent the students a pizza! Liz wrote:

It did get to them! If anyone wants to support them, Tony’s Pizza (973) 821-4723 delivered to them. I had it sent to 2 Cedar St 8th floor and sent them an email telling them it was coming, and they sent me a picture back of the pizza box with thank you written on it. I say we do what we can to let them know that we appreciate what they are doing.

KenS says:

February 19, 2015 at 11:12 pm

Can we set up a rotation to send them food from Tony’s as long as they want to stay in Anderson’s office?

Donna says:

February 19, 2015 at 11:33 pm

Cami, Hespe and Christie, in that order all the way up to the “top decider” could give a rat’s rear about these kids, and all the kids in Newark. Anderson’s Public Relations mouthpiece, Parmley, is a liar. Then again, Christie, Hespe and Cami are liars too. Soon, there will be 3 new charter schools housed in the same complex as the TFA “Teachers Village” on Halsey St. in Newark. These protesting teens are small potatoes to the holy trinity, and not worth their time. I am very proud of these teens. What surprises is me is…where is everyone else? Perhaps over the weekend more people will come out to occupy 2 Cedar Street.

booklady says:

February 20, 2015 at 12:20 am

The Occupy NPS students have coverage in France. Google New Jersey: des lyceens occupent le bureau de leur directrice
to find article at observers.france24.com/fr/
The 2-19 article notes how they’ve used social media to advantage.
Bien fait!

dmaxmj says:

February 20, 2015 at 7:03 am

http://bobbraunsledger.com/newark-students-seize-cami-andersons-office/ is very good on this, and have been tweeting with them and others…even Montel Williams is in on this and sadly the more you read-the more clear it is that outside agenda trumps inside need in policy these days. It is time to take back our nation.

werebat73 says:

February 20, 2015 at 7:36 am

Don’t worry, kids. Pretty soon, RI Governor Gina Raimondo will announce that she has unilaterally decided — er, I mean consulted with all stakeholders and found the perfect replacement for exiting Commissioner of Education Deborah Gist — Cami Anderson!

Cami is connected to Gist via Senator Cory Booker, who was previously Mayor of Newark and gave Cami great praise. Booker is good friends with Raimondo’s husband, Andy Moffit, who himself has strong connections to the McKinsey group and Eidelman’s Stand for Children. In fact, the two were college roommates.

Raimondo has already created a state office for Connecticut’s former Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, who has the exact same connection to her through Moffit and Booker, and was also hired as he was being run out on a rail by angry non-profiteer education stakeholders like students and parents.

Good news for you; for Rhode Island, which is poised to become a shuffle shelter for who knows how many corporate reform stooges, not so much. At least we were able to fob Gist off on Tulsa!