City of Newark

Students from Newark’s JFK School Tapped for the Inaugural Sled Hockey Program

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[Newark, NJ – November 16, 2021]  In partnership with the City of Newark’s Recreation Department, USA Hockey, the New Jersey Devils and Hockey In NJ (Newark), students from John F. Kennedy School will participate in the first ever Sled Hockey Program in Newark. 

JFK is a middle-secondary special education school that offers specialized curriculum for students with multiple disabilities and moderate cognitive involvement.

Sled Hockey provides opportunities for many types of disabilities for recreation/competitions at the local level all the way to the Paralympics. Players sit in specially designed sleds that sit on top of two hockey skate blades.

Each child will receive a donated sled and a full set of equipment this Saturday, November 20th at the 11th annual USA Hockey Sled Classic, presented by the NHL at the Ice Vault Arena in Wayne, New Jersey.  

Superintendent Roger León said, “We are excited at this unique opportunity in establishing our very own NBOE Sled Hockey Program at JFK because this sets the stage to one day celebrate our very own Paralympian.”

JFK students, along with other students from the community who want to play, will be part of the Newark Board of Education’s (NBOE) Inaugural Sled Hockey Program, where they will practice at the James/Gibson Ice Hockey Rink in Newark, NJ. 

 “As the principal of JFK, I am so excited about this opportunity of a lifetime for our students, they will be able to live our school motto and show the world that there are No Limits to What We Can Do” remarked Jill Summers.

Pat Council of Newark’s Recreation, Cultural Affairs, and Senior Services shares in the superintendent’s excitement, “The City is always excited to partner with the Newark Board of Education on initiatives that are inclusive to all communities that we serve and look forward to the partnership with JFK and the students they serve”

“The addition of Sled Hockey in Hockey in NJ’s (Newark) programming led by Dennis Ruppe and Keith Veltre proves once again that hockey is making great inroads in providing equity and access that allows more kids to participate.”  stated Dan Brennan of Director of USA Hockey Sled National Teams.

For more information, please contact:

Nancy J. Deering
Board Relations, Director
Communications, Acting Director
973-733-6265 (office)

Historic 10-Year Strategic Plan to Build a New Educational Ecosystem in Newark

Newark, New Jersey [September 8, 2020].

Superintendent Roger León and the Newark Board of Education released an unprecedented 10-year strategic plan titled, The Next Decade: 2020-30.  The unveiling of The Next Decade: 2020-30 strategic plan sets the district’s sights on a bold future and the creation of a new educational ecosystem that delivers a world-class education to every child in the City of Newark.  This plan is a comprehensive roadmap that guides the priorities and strategies that will best help us fulfill our mission and vision over the next ten years.  Developed collaboratively by partners, community leaders, elected officials, board members, parents, students, district leadership, and educators, The Next Decade: 2020-30 marks the beginning of full local control which was returned to the district on July 1, 2020.

Superintendent León said, “This strategic plan reflects the best thinking of our community’s leaders regarding the structure and function of our city’s public education institutions at this time, upon their return to local control after years of state operation, and for years to come.  Our vision is that in ten years our schools will be equal in quality to the best anywhere and all our students will achieve to their fullest potential. This strategic plan will help guide us there.”

“This strategic plan weaves together the resources, organizations, and stakeholders in our city to ensure that we all play our part and hold each other accountable for creating the schools our students deserve,” said Mayor Ras Baraka.  “As the Mayor, and an educator myself, I commit to mobilizing the City’s resources in partnership with NPS in order to bring this plan to life. I look forward to working with the district to make Newark the nation’s exemplar for culturally responsive and equitable education that empowers our students to live and lead in the 21st Century.”

The Next Decade: 2020-30 strategic planning process spanned over two years and included the implementation of the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, 9 Stakeholder Roundtables, and three working groups that focused on mission, vision, core values, a theory of action, and equity.  We hosted 75 meetings involving 100 partner organizations and over 1000 participants to assess data, identify root causes and gaps, and develop strategies.  The strategic planning process set higher expectations, addressed cultural responsiveness, increased transparency, focused on equity, and fostered collaboration as these themes echoed from session to session and stakeholder to stakeholder.  These, and other themes, are integrated into the priorities and strategies included in the strategic plan.  The Next Decade: 2020-30 builds on the district’s one-year strategic plan, NPS Clarity 2020, which was implement during the 2019-2020 school year. The development of NPS Clarity 2020, and now The Next Decade:2020-30, is an example of how one strategic plan should build from the other one.

View or Download the Strategic Plan

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First Ever Virtual District Staff Convocation for Newark Schools

On September 1, 2020, Superintendent León and the Newark Board of Education hosted District Staff Convocation 2020.  The convocation is the annual celebration to the start of the school year where the Superintendent convenes all employees in one venue to share the state of the district, review multiple measures of data, celebrate accomplishments, set the tone for the new school year, and charge the staff.  As last school year ended in a historic way, so started this school year.  The District Staff Convocation 2020 was held virtually for all 6,300 employees.

Superintendent León charged the district “to continue to be flexible, exercise patience, build confidence, and demonstrate resilience” as we open this school year remotely.  He shared that last school year, prior to the emergence of the pandemic, attendance was the highest ever, student achievement was soaring, and record numbers of seniors were on track to graduate.  In spite of historic obstacles at the height of the pandemic, schools and homes joined forces unlike ever before.  Higher demands on students enrolled in advanced placement courses resulted in record participation numbers on AP exams, seniors in dual enrollment courses graduated with high school diplomas and associates degrees, and the Class of 2020 earned over $40 million in college scholarships resulting in the graduation rate reaching its highest level in Newark’s history.

Mayor Ras J. Baraka welcomed the teachers and staff to the start of this virtual school year and noted, “We are at a different moment, a different point in time in history.  We need you now, in this pandemic, to help encourage, inspire, to educate them, to advance them, to take care of their mental state of mind.”

“This is my 3rd Convocation, and it is a convocation like no other,” said Josephine C. Garcia, President of the Newark Board of Education.  She continued, “We know that out of adversity, comes opportunity.  We have the opportunity to improve on the great instruction that we have been providing over the past couple of years, we have the opportunity to strengthen relationships with our community partners, and we have the opportunity to be second to none!  Staff, you are seizing the moment, and together, we will continue to show everyone how it’s done, because we are NEWARK STRONG.”

During the last few months, the district created the NBOE Task Force for the Reopening of Schools who prepared an executive summary, established ingress and egress procedures, outlined intensive cleaning and sanitizing protocols, piloted in-person summer school at two locations, identified Pandemic Response Teams at each school, curated curriculum featuring social emotional learning, reviewed metrics for virtual learning to ensure rigorous instruction, continued to train staff to ensure efficient implementation, and began the return to in-person operations.

The first day of remote instruction for students is Tuesday, September 8, 2020.

For more information, please contact:

Newark Board of Education
Nancy Deering, Interim Executive Director
Communications
973-733-6265

 

City of Newark Distributes Nearly 2 Million Meals to Residents to Relieve COVID-19 Stress

[Newark, NJ-August 11, 2020] Mayor Ras J. Baraka today announced that along with Newark Public Schools breakfast and lunch program, the City’s food relief program is closing in on delivering 2 million meals to Newark residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, since the program began in March. The City itself has delivered 1,063,213 meals by itself to date, while the Newark Public Schools has delivered close to 1 million meals.

Residents in all five wards have received these meals, including Newark Housing Authority residents, senior citizens, residents without addresses, and homeless people in shelters and temporary housing. In addition, more than 5,272 ShopRite gift cards have been given out.

“We have a moral obligation during these difficult times to do everything we can to support our community,” said Mayor Baraka. “This would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of our incredible partners who without hesitation stepped up to bring relief to those in need. This is what the City of Newark does in these times, we come together, for the greater good. This is what it means to be Newark Strong.”

“I am extremely proud of our collected efforts in providing meals to all of the children and their families during these uncertain times,” said Newark’s Superintendent of Schools Roger León. “In collaboration with the Mayor and the City of Newark, we have made great strides at caring for the children and all of our residents.”

To see list of partners who were integral to the food operation, whether providing meals or distributing them to the residents throughout Newark, and Mayor’s ShopRite Gift Card Program, see here: https://bit.ly/31ymUnS

On Wednesdays, the food operation is made possible by Hello Fresh, Table to Table, and volunteers who assemble food items that serve eight meals per family.

Residents who are in need of food can request to be added to the Wednesday distribution list by contacting the Office of the Mayor at 973-733-3274 or 973-344-3942, or by sending a message via the City of Newark’s Facebook page.

-NEWARK-

For more information on the City of Newark, please visit our website
www.newarknj.gov

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cityofnewarknj

The Newark Board of Education supports City of Newark efforts to ensure that all residents are counted in Census 2020

[Newark, New Jersey – April 26, 2020] In support of the City of Newark’s effort to ensure that everyone in every household is counted, Superintendent Roger León, of the Newark Board of Education has designated Monday, April 27, 2020 as Census 2020 Day for all schools in the district.

“We have been emphasizing the message that everyone in the great city of Newark, must be counted”, said Superintendent León.  He added, “The consequences for an inaccurate count for our school district is detrimental and will be realized in a number of fiscal, programmatic and legislative shortfalls.  We cannot afford to let that happen.”

Understanding that our parents hold the key to accurate counts, members of the district’s parent engagement teams attended monthly training sessions on the importance of Census completion with Census Bureau staff from the tri-state area. Title I and many other federal programs use the Census number to distribute millions of dollars to school districts, multiple times in any given year.  Needless to say, accurate counts have the power to change the lives of children. 

Census 2020 Day marks the culmination of activities spanning more than a year.  To reinforce our message, the Newark Board of Education has lead a number of Census related activities, which include but not limited to the following:

  • Census 2020 Workshops for parents were conducted in most of our schools.
  • Parent Liaisons in each school, facilitated small group Census completion sessions and assisted families in navigating the Census website.
  • Bureau volunteers from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, fielded parent questions while manning information tables during our Districtwide Report Card night.
  • Students participated in the Essex County Fairy Trail Census Program where they learned about the impact the Census count can have on their community.
  • Elementary school students submitted more than 50 entries in the Newark City Art Census Logo competition, designed to raise awareness.
  • Worked with the Complete Count Committee and other partners, to develop a bilingual PSA.
  • Advocates for Children of New Jersey provided Census materials in multiple languages, which were strategically placed in all schools and on the district’s website.

On Monday, Census 2020 Day, every Social Studies teacher will use their period with students to review the importance of completing the Census, discuss the benefits and remind them that them that it only takes a few minutes complete.

Finally, during the month of May, we will continue to strengthen the learning by including the Census in mathematics lessons, so that each week, students will study the Census through statistics.  Everyone must be counted, No Excuses, No Exceptions! 

Newark Board of Education President, Josephine Garcia said “I am proud of the work that is being done because statistics reveal that urban areas like ours are historically undercounted, which is why we must make every effort to see that everyone who should be counted is counted.”

 

About The Newark Public Schools District

The Newark Public Schools District, with 66 schools, 5,877 employees and a student population of 37,291 is the largest and one of the oldest school systems in New Jersey. Its origin dates back to 1676. Barringer High School, in Newark’s North Ward, is the third oldest public high school in the nation. The ethnic diversity of the city provides a rich educational experience for pre-kindergarten to secondary school students. The district continues to revise its services to meet the changing needs of students.