[Newark, New Jersey, December 11, 2019] On Thursday, December 12th beginning at 9:00AM, the Newark Board of Education, in partnership with Girls Who Code and NJIT, will host an inaugural “Girls Who Code Showcase” featuring over 300 sixth through tenth grade students from 25 of our schools at the New Jersey Institute of Technology Campus Center.
The event occurs during Computer Science Education Week (December 9 – 15) and will feature a coding-based project competition among students participating in after-school clubs. During the showcase, students will present their “Impact Projects” to the competition’s judges. Each club’s Impact Project was developed to solve problems in their local community, by applying coding knowledge and creative computational thinking to a range of product designs — from innovative phone apps to web sites and robotics.
The projects will be evaluated based on a rubric reviewing three core components: 1) Design and Aesthetics, 2) Purpose, and 3) Social Impact & Project Differentiation. First, second, and third place will be awarded to schools for each category as well as an overall first, second, and third place.
The showcase will include a recorded welcome message from First Lady Tammy Murphy and opening remarks from Superintendent of Schools Roger León, Senator M. Teresa Ruiz, and Assemblywoman Shavonda E. Sumter.
Additionally, distinguished representatives from Apple, Microsoft, Verizon, Panasonic, Prudential, NJIT, the Urban League of Essex County, William Paterson University, Montclair University, Kean University, Girls Who Code, and the Newark Board of Education will serve as volunteer judges to review the students’ projects.
By: Alexandra Hill, Afternoon News Anchor and Reporter, WBGO
Newark Today presents The State of Newark Public Schools. Host Michael Hill was joined by Mayor Ras Baraka, Schools Superintendent Roger León, President of the Board of Education Josephine Garcia, and Bruno Coelho, 2019-2020 Student Representative.
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[Newark, NJ | June 4, 2019] Mayor Ras J. Baraka, United Way of Essex and West Hudson CEO Catherine Wilson, Newark Public Library Director Jeffrey Trzeciak, Newark City of Learning Collaborative Executive Director Reginald Lewis, the Newark Board of Education, Audible.com, and Panasonic Foundation Executive Director Alejandra Ceja launched a comprehensive Newark literacy initiative for the entire city this morning at the Newark Public Library Main Branch, located at 5 Washington Street in the city’s downtown. The initiatives will include intergenerational literacy coaching. Anchor Partners donated $100,000 to #NewarkReads, including $80,000 from Panasonic alone.
The Mayor’s Book Club will start in June 2019, with a sixth to eighth grade pilot and a high school-adult segment will follow in September. The Newark Literacy Coalition will provide residents of all ages with approaches to improve reading, writing, listening, and thinking skills for residents of all ages, focusing on adult literacy and birth to third-grade interventions.
“A love of reading can foster a lifetime of success,” said Mayor Baraka. “I am excited to announce the formation of #NewarkReads, a citywide literacy coalition, and lead the charge to increase reading, writing, and higher level thinking skills, by challenging the youth and the adults of Newark to participate in the Mayor’s Book Club. The summer selections will connect youth to books that will educate, empower and inspire them. High school – adult selections will begin in the fall. This book club will connect residents in all of our neighborhoods in thought-provoking discussions, as residents read book club selections.”
“The Newark Public Library is proud to partner on this important initiative,” said Mr. Trzeciak. “Literacy is a fundamental component of the services we provide. As such, the Library looks forward to working collaboratively with the City of Newark and community partners to increase literacy rates among youth, families and adults.”
“As a global tech leader, Panasonic is proud to support initiatives that transform communities and support 21st century career readiness skills,” said Alejandra Ceja, executive director, Panasonic Foundation and Office of Corporate Social Responsibility. “The future of work will require strong literacy coupled with STEM proficiency and our commitment to #NewarkReads is an investment in the people of Newark and our global economy. This is just one example of how collaboratively, we can work towards a better life, a better world.”
According to available statistics, 47,000 Newark adults lacked basic prose literacy skills, and 56 percent of Newark youth scored partially proficient on NJ ASK and HSPA standardized literacy tests. Almost 90 percent of the students who scored partially proficient on these tests came from economically disadvantaged families. These literacy statistics place Newark the bottom six percent of all New Jersey districts. This gap ties directly to a lifelong economic opportunity gap and has financial, social, and civic consequences for individuals as well as Newark as a whole.
Nationwide, approximately 32 million adults cannot read, according to the US Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy. 50 percent of US adults cannot read a book written at an eighth-grade level. Scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress are considered “catastrophically low” for children of color. Nationally, only 18 percent of black and 21 percent of Latino students tested “above proficient” in reading by the end of fourth grade. As of 2011, America is the only free-market Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nation where the current generation was less-educated than the previous one.
Anchor Partners in the program include the Mayor’s Office of Comprehensive Community Education, Newark Public Schools, the United Way of Essex & West Hudson, Panasonic, Newark City of Learning Collaborative, the Newark Public Library, and Audible.Com.
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Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, NJIT President Joel S. Bloom, and Newark Public Schools Superintendent Roger León launched a partnership with the university to create two initiatives: NJIT/Newark Math Success and The Mayor’s Honors Scholars Program, in a press conference today in City Hall.
The NJIT/Newark Math Success Initiative (MSI) will seek to dramatically increase by doubling the number of Newark residents who enroll at NJIT for undergraduate education. Currently, only about 200 Newark students are attending NJIT.
“As a 22-year-educator in Newark Public Schools, I know just how dedicated, talented, and motivated our students are to succeed in the classroom and in life. I also know that numbers of them must overcome considerable challenges to gain the high grades they need to in turn achieve their goals in life. This partnership between NJIT, Newark Public Schools, and the City will enable many deserving Newark students to gain a pipeline to classes, scholarships, and networking that will in turn enable them to attend college and excel. These two initiatives are more than an academic opportunity for our youth – they are an investment in our city’s future,” Mayor Baraka said.
The Mayor’s Honors Scholars program at NJIT will create opportunities for talented students from the Newark Public Schools to enroll in NJIT’s Albert Dorman Honors College. Each year, NJIT will work with the Newark Public Schools to select three Mayor’s Honors Scholars for admission to ADHC. These students will receive full scholarships as well as paid internships with the City of Newark during the summer months.
Established in 1995 through the generosity of NJIT alumnus Albert Dorman, who founded AECOM Technology Corporation (the largest architecture and engineering firm in the world), the ADHC has been ranked as a top public honors college by Inside Honors. Students in the ADHC have exclusive access to the James Kennedy Honors Center and may apply to live within the Honors Residence Hall. Their curriculum includes special classes, seminars, colloquia (lectures, trips, networking with distinguished speakers and alumni) as well as opportunities to engage in research and practical learning experiences, such as co-ops, internships and apprenticeships.
“These two STEM-focused programs will change the lives of thousands of Newark students,” said Superintendent León. “The initiatives will allow us to move our agenda for education and student scholarship forward. We are redefining our high schools and Dr. Bloom and NJIT and Mayor Baraka are providing a pathway to progress and success for our students and for that I am grateful.”
The goal of the NJIT/Newark Math Success Initiative is to increase the total enrollment of Newark residents at NJIT to a minimum of 600 through a partnership between NJIT, the Office of the Mayor and the Newark Public Schools. The MSI will provide direct mathematics instruction and support to rising 12th graders and mathematics-certified teachers at the following high schools: Central, Science Park, Technology, and Malcolm X Shabazz, where NJIT alumnus Naseed Gifted is principal. This will begin in the summer of 2019 and continue throughout the academic year. The program is designed to strengthen Newark high school students’ mathematics knowledge, skills and preparation for college work, so they are able to succeed as first-semester, first-year college freshmen taking MATH 111 Calculus at NJIT.
The first cohort of MIS students, as well as eight teachers, will complete a seven-week program from June 24 – August 9, 2019, on NJIT’s campus. Hands-on, applied mathematics instruction will be enhanced by counseling, tutoring, and other college preparatory support services interspersed with recreational activities in campus facilities. The participating high school teachers will engage in professional development activities and will be mentored by NJIT mathematics faculty while supporting students working in small groups during class instruction and recitation. They also may conduct research with NJIT faculty in mathematics pedagogy and applications. The Newark Public Schools will identify the students and faculty participating in the program.
During the academic year, selected high school teachers will meet monthly with NJIT mathematics faculty members through a combination of on-line and face-to-face interactions to further explore mathematics pedagogy. They also will build a peer network that will be extended to mathematics teachers assigned to other Newark high schools. The academic year experience for the student cohort will feature instruction in credit-bearing mathematics courses during the week and on Saturdays at NJIT. Students also will receive assistance with submitting the Common Application accepted by the NJIT Office of Admissions and completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.
“Math is the foundation for success in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines, and STEM is where the greatest career opportunities exist. We will continue to partner with Mayor Baraka and Superintendent Leon to make math proficiency less of a barrier for Newark students, so they can take advantage of having one of the nation’s leading polytechnic universities right in their own hometown,” President Bloom explained. “In addition to the programmatic aspects of this effort, NJIT will work to assure that none of these students leave our university because of financial need by investing more than $1 million per year to support their success.”
About New Jersey Institute of Technology
One of only 32 polytechnic universities in the United States, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) prepares students to become leaders in the technology-dependent economy of the 21st century. NJIT’s multidisciplinary curriculum and computing-intensive approach to education provide technological proficiency, business acumen and leadership skills. NJIT has a $2 billion annual economic impact on the State of New Jersey, conducts approximately $160 million in research activity each year (R1 Carnegie Classification), and is a global leader in such fields as solar research, nanotechnology, resilient design, tissue engineering, and cybersecurity, in addition to others. NJIT is ranked #1 nationally by Forbes for the upward economic mobility of its lowest-income students and is among the top 2 percent of public colleges and universities in return on educational investment, according to PayScale.com. NJIT also is ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 50 public national universities.