Press Releases

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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Today is the First Day of School: A Historic Day in Newark, New Jersey

Today marks a historic day in the City of Newark.  While there is so much going on in the world around us, the start of this school year is historic for many reasons.

Superintendent León said, “Today, we begin our first school year under local control in over two decades, we take our first steps in implementing the nation’s first ten-year strategic plan The Next Decade: 2020-30, and we launch over 80 new curricular documents focused on providing rigorous instruction to students.”  He added, “This is a historic start to this school year.”

In preparation for this school year, the district has outlined ingress/egress procedures, created and trained our own specialized facilities team utilizing a new intensive cleaning and sanitizing initiative, provided professional development to staff, distributed thousands of Chromebooks, digitized the registration process, and continued to distribute meals to students and families throughout the city. When students log on for remote learning today, they will be greeted by their teachers who now have new and updated curricula, digital learning platforms, digital books, and a variety of online assessments.

Since April of last school year, the Office of Teaching and Learning, along with classroom teachers, coaches, and department chairpersons have worked to create 89 new curriculum documents, as well as 22 new courses of study.  Students will be able to demonstrate their knowledge of mathematics, science, foundational literacy, reading, and language through online benchmark assessments.  In addition, we have revamped curriculum in civics and Amistad, and planned changes in Black and Latino Studies courses.  We have prioritized social emotional learning as critical to the success of our students and we will be assessing student needs beginning on day one.  All of this work will be complemented with progress monitoring assessments—very brief assessments that are used to better ensure students meet end-of-the-year learning targets.

Today is the first day of remote instruction, truly a historic day in Newark.

For more information, please contact:

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

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

 

All Newark Public Schools to Continue Operating Remotely At the Start of the Upcoming 2020-21 School Year

[August 17, 2020]  On Monday, August 17, 2020, Superintendent Roger León, with the full support of the Newark Board Education, came to the decision that All Newark Public Schools would continue operating remotely for the first marking period of the 2020-21 school year. In an effort to move forward during this unprecedented time, the Superintendent established and tasked the NBOE Task Force for the Reopening of Schools who devoted its time to and served guidance for both in-person instruction and remote learning.

“We had to consider the safety of our students and staff above all else,” said Superintendent León. “We are prepared to continue offering our students instruction with rigor and to do so creatively, so that our students maintain their competitive edge,” he added.

“We, the NBOE School Board have come to a consensus that we agree with Superintendent Leon’s decision to continue virtual instruction at all Newark Public Schools. The COVID-19 pandemic as it stands is still a large public health risk and it will be treated as such. This being said, the public health and safety of our students and staff will continue to be held to the highest standard.” stated Board President, Josephine Garcia. The plan to reopen schools began in March, as the Superintendent, along with the Board and the Task Force worked to address key areas for a smooth transition back. Those areas consisted of: conditions for learning, leadership and planning, policy and funding, and continuity of learning, while drawing attention to areas of concerns like academic instruction and social emotional learning.

“As a parent on the Task Force”, said Yolanda Johnson, “I was able to see firsthand and be a part of the hard work of everybody involved in important and essential decision making.” She added, “A really good job with parents at the table.” And John Abeigon, President of the Newark Teachers Union said, “The NTU has worked from day one closely with the Reopening Task Force, state, city, district, and AFT on what reopening would look like, and we are grateful to see that the Superintendent considered all of the facts and made the right decision to allow the district to operate remotely under the circumstances.

The decision for all Newark Public Schools to operate remotely was not one that was made lightly. Mrs. Wilhelmina Holder, President of the Secondary Parent Council said, “In light of the revised reopening plans, I think this is the best strategic move at this time given all unknown variables from the NJDOE, the NJ Health Department, and the Murphy administration. Challenging moments as these require courageous leadership as exhibited by this team in Newark.”

For all questions and concerns regarding next steps, the Newark Board of Education encourages all parents and guardians to reach out to their respective school’s Principal for further assistance.

For more information, please contact:
Newark Board of Education
Nancy Deering, Interim Executive Director
Communications
973-733-6265

Newark Board of Education Installs the First Remote Power Unit Off-Grid Wind/Solar LED Street Light in the City of Newark

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Featured in this photo are: Diane Marcillo, Steven Morlino, Superintendent Roger León, Marcus Johnson and Rodney L. Williams

The Newark Board of Education takes great pride in the upkeep of our campus and adopting cutting edge technologies. We continue to invest in and provide our students and staff with the best facilities and educational experiences possible.

In the fall of 2019, Rodney Williams, Director of Energy & Sustainability of the Newark Board of Education and staff members, met with Aris Wind to discuss renewable energy solutions for the district. They were particularly interested in Aris’ wind and solar powered streetlight that is called a Remote Power Unit (RPU).

“I want to thank Superintendent León and Mr. Steve Morlino for allowing me and my staff to be a part of such a progressive team.  We took advantage of the opportunity to do something beyond the need of light, and our students and community will benefit from years to come,” said Rodney.

After extensive research, the decision was made to locate the RPU outside of the flagship Science Park High School.  The District felt this investment would be a wonderful improvement to the campus landscape and provide a great learning opportunity for the student body.  The RPU is off the grid and will provide resilient power and light. The district plans to incorporate the unit’s wind and solar data into its STEM curriculum at Science Park High School.

“The RPU is an important key that unlocks a wealth of cutting edge 21st Century technology and is aligned with the priorities outlined in our strategic plan, The Next Decade: 2020-30,” said Superintendent of Schools, Roger León.  “The installation of the RPU is the first of its kind to be installed in the City of Newark.  It will teach and expose our students to different ways to be leaders in helping their community become more sustainable,” he added.

The wind turbine and solar panel on the RPU will provide 100% renewable clean energy. Improving the safety and security of the grounds, it will provide power and light, even in the event of a grid outage. The RPU will capture wind and solar energy year-round which can be stored for up to five-days, depending on usage and demand.

The Newark Board of Education is very enthusiastic about the many opportunities this RPU will create for the students to learn about the science of renewable energy.

Dan Connors, COO of Aris Wind commented, “We are very pleased with the opportunity to provide one of our RPU’s to Newark Schools, particularly at this location!   The Science Park team’s commitments to sustainability, their STEM curriculum, and security of their students, is perfectly matched to the RPU.”

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For more information, please contact:

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

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.

The Newark Board of Education Returns to In-person Central Office Operations

The Newark Board of Education (NBOE) operated virtually for more than three months.  The Central Office Staff resumed in-person operations on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.  While working remotely, the District used the opportunity to establish and implement safety measures and protocols to prepare for their safe return.

Prior to returning to in-person operations, every staff member had to submit proof of having tested negative for the coronavirus.  In addition, they must wear a mask and follow a 4-step procedure before being allowed to enter the building: symptoms screening, temperature check, footwear sanitizing, and hand sanitizing. 

Click here for a visual representation of the process – https://newark.apppresser.com/news/nboe-returns-from-virtual-operations/. 

To further safeguard staff, the District has also taken additional measures including but not limited to, contactless deliveries, avoidance of large in-person group meetings, restricting access to building employees, and the installation of air purifiers that meet HEFA standards.

“We understand that these are evolving guidelines based on external conditions and we will continue to follow the guidance of the Governor’s Executive Orders and the CDC,” according to Superintendent Roger León.  “The safety and well-being of our staff and students is of the utmost importance, and we are prepared to make immediate adjustments whenever necessary.” 

For more information, please contact:
Newark Board of Education
Nancy Deering, Interim Executive Director
Communications
973-733-6265

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.