4,000 students will receive a free device and free wireless service in first year of the program

 

NEWARK, NJ – Nov. 17, 2017 – Sprint (NYSE: S), Newark Public Schools Superintendent Christopher D. Cerf, and Newark’s Mayor, Ras J. Baraka announced today that more than 4,000 Newark Public High School students will receive the equipment and connectivity they need to complete their schoolwork from home as part of the 1Million Project. The 2017-2018 school year marks the first year of the initiative with more 180,000 students in 1,300 schools across 30 states.

“The classroom has rapidly evolved through the last decade, which is why it’s crucial for students to have access to cutting-edge technology,” said Karen Paletta, Sprint’s President for the New York City and New Jersey Region. “Sprint wants to make sure every child has what he or she needs to succeed, and that’s why we’re so excited to make this donation of hotspots and smartphones to Newark Public Schools.”

Seventy percent of America’s high school teachers assign homework requiring online connectivity, yet more than five million families with school-aged students do not have internet connectivity at home.¹ These students are faced with an enormous challenge as they are unable to complete their homework from home, search for jobs, apply to college and financial aid, or easily access the valuable information they need to succeed in school and life.

“Newark has become one of the country’s most important centers of technology. In keeping with that, I am pleased that Sprint has chosen to provide Newark students with the connectivity they need to do their school work and prepare themselves for a bright future,” said Mayor Ras J. Baraka.

“The Sprint devices will expand the opportunity for more than 4,000 Newark Public Schools students to be connected to learning anytime, anywhere,” said Newark Superintendent of Schools, Christopher D. Cerf.  “Thank you Sprint for your investment in our students.”

The 1Million Project will distribute devices and provide service to eligible students at the following Newark high schools:

Each student participating in the 1Million Project will receive either a free smartphone or hotspot device and 3GB of high-speed LTE data per month for up to four years while they are in high school. Unlimited data is available at 2G speeds if usage exceeds 3GB in a month. Those who receive a smartphone can use it as a hotspot.

To address the homework gap on such a large scale, Sprint piloted the program with 3,750 high school students in 10 markets in January 2017 through the end of the last school year. Lessons learned at the local level helped to prepare for the national rollout this fall. In a survey of students who participated in the pilot, the vast majority (86%) said the 1Million Project improved their attitude toward learning and school, and helped them do their homework in a comfortable, convenient and safe place. Looking forward, 82% of students said the program positively impacted the likelihood that they will persist and graduate from high school. And, 80% said it improves the likelihood that they will continue on to college.

Schools or districts who want to apply for the second year of the 1Million Project, which begins with the 2018-19 school year, can visit www.sprint.com/1millionproject to learn more. Applicants will receive a response by spring 2018.

Anyone looking to support the program can visit www.sprint.com/give1mp to make a donation via credit card.² Sprint stores continue to accept monetary and device donations. Used mobile devices can also be donated online.³ Devices will be recycled or resold with net proceeds benefiting the 1Million Project. Visit www.sprint.com/1millionproject for more information, and follow and support the program on social media by using the hashtag #1MillionProject.

1 The Pew Research Center (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/20/the-numbers-behind-the-broadband-homework-gap/)

² Cash donations for the 1Million Project are tax-deductible charitable contributions to the Sprint Foundation.

³ Device donations are not tax deductible. Net proceeds from reselling/recycling donated devices or $1 per device, whichever is greater, will be donated to the program.

The Trust for Public Land and Newark Public Schools to launch Green, Healthy Schoolyards plan to reach more Newark students.

 

NEWARK, N.J. — The Trust for Public Land, Newark Public Schools, city and state officials, and the Lafayette Street School community celebrated the opening of a new playground at the Lafayette Street School at a ribbon-cutting ceremony today. The event marks the successful culmination of a longstanding community effort to convert the one-time parking lot into a public playground and learning area for the students and the surrounding community. At the event the partners also announced a goal to expand their partnership to focus on creating new playgrounds at other schools across the city in the years ahead.

Located in the densely packed Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, the school and surrounding blocks previously had no outdoor recreational spaces where kids could safely play outside. The new schoolyard changes that, as it now provides the school’s 1,140 students—and the more than 3,000 children living within a ten-minute walk—with a new state-of-the-art playground with features such as a huge climbing structure, a basketball court, an outdoor learning area, and a multi-sport synthetic turf field.

The community’s interest in returning the schoolyard to a place of play began almost a decade ago. Lafayette Street School parents, Newark Councilman Augusto Amador, members of the Ironbound community, together with The Trust for Public Land, and Newark Public Schools worked together in a campaign to transform the asphalt lot into a vibrant public space for the students and surrounding community.

“The Trust for Public Land’s Parks for People Program has a long history of working with community partners to develop safe, inviting, learning-rich schoolyards throughout Newark, but this was our first schoolyard in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark’s East Ward,” said Scott Dvorak, director of The Trust for Public Land’s Parks for People-Newark Program. “The school and the Ironbound community were wonderful partners and we hope others will now get involved to ensure that the playground remains a community resource for many years to come.”

Councilman Amador and Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura, both Lafayette School alumni, were among the many local leaders who called attention to the need for a healthy play space for the students. “It was an honor to serve as Honorary Co-Chair of the Lafayette Street School campaign with Armando Fontoura and fellow alumni Linda Rodrigues, Elaine Neves, Frank Giantomasi, Vicky Chan and David Puente,” said Councilman Amador. “Together, we gave back to our Ironbound community and the children at Lafayette Street School.”

School administrators, teachers, alumni, Ironbound businesses and local foundations all joined the cause and eventually raised close to $1 million to create the playground. Among the many donors to the campaign were the Edward and Sharon Cruz Family Foundation, PSEG Foundation, The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, Gibson Family Foundation, John and Margaret Post Foundation, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Investors Bank, Helen and William Mazer Foundation, Victoria Foundation, and Johanette Wallerstein Institute.

The Trust for Public Land led a participatory design process with the school’s students, teachers, and parents to develop the innovative design for the new schoolyard, which includes a mural by Lafayette School alumna and local artist, Gera Lozano. The new playground will be open to the larger community during non-school hours, thanks to public funding for the project that is coming from the New Jersey Green Acres Program.

“Newark Public Schools is fortunate to have the support of our families and the many other partners who helped bring the new Lafayette Street School playground to fruition,” said Christopher Cerf, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools. “Based on our success working with The Trust for Public Land to create a positive learning and recreational space at Lafayette Street School, we are excited to explore additional ways to bring similar improvements to other schools throughout the district.”

Since 1995, The Trust for Public Land has worked to create park equity in Newark’s most vulnerable communities through its Parks for People program. The goal of the initiative is to ensure that everyone has access to a quality park within a half-mile—or a ten-minute walk—of home. To date, the Parks for People—Newark program has transformed 8 playgrounds and 4 parks in Newark’s least green neighborhoods, with over 95,000 Newark adults and children benefiting from a Trust for Public Land park within a 10-minute walk from home.

Working with Newark Public Schools and the City of Newark, The Trust for Public Land announced its Green, Healthy Schoolyards plan to expand its Newark playground program in an effort to ensure that all Newark children have access to a high quality park or playground. Support for The Trust for Public Land’s plan is being made possible by a leadership gift from The Prudential Foundation, and an early commitment from the PSEG Foundation and the New Jersey Green Acres Program to support the next schoolyard project.

About The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Nearly ten million people live within a ten-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year. To support The Trust for Public Land and share why nature matters to you, visit http://www.tpl.org

Pre-K to 8th Grade Education, Special Needs, Bilingual Education and College & Career Readiness Information to Be Available

 

NEWARK, New Jersey – November 13, 2017 – The Newark Public Schools (NPS) will host the 31st Annual Title 1 Citywide Parent Conference on Wednesday, November 15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at NJIT. The theme for this year, “Parents as Partners – Embracing Diversity,” explores parent engagement as a way to nurture and promote student education.

“The Title 1 Conference provides an opportunity for us to engage parents in the education of their child,” said Christopher D. Cerf, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools. According to Superintendent Cerf, “This year’s conference theme suggests that we draw on diversity of perspectives, cultures, experiences and ideas to help our students learn and explore education and to engage parents every in every aspect of their child’s education.” 

The conference is being led by the NPS Office of Family and Community Engagement (FACE) and will focus on a number of topics, including; early childhood education, student transition to high school, understanding financial aid, bilingual education and more.  

Margarita Muniz, Executive Director of the Office of Family and Community Engagement said, “Parental voice has value and power, our children and our schools need parent input to be successful, which is why parent participation in the conference and throughout the school year is essential.” 

In addition to FACE, also participating in the Title 1 Conference will be the Office of Federal Programs and Grants and the Office of Early Childhood.

For more information about the Title 1 Conference, Parents as Partners, Embracing Diversity,” please contact your Community Engagement Specialist at your child’s respective school. 

 

Newark Public Schools, Mayor’s Office and Newark Trust for Education

 

NEWARK, New Jersey –November 3, 2017 – Nearly 250 people attended a series of five simulanteous meetings earlier this week on the return of local control of Newark Public Schools (NPS) from the state of New Jersey back to Newark.   The meetings, which were held at a school in each of the city’s five wards, were held in conjunction with the Office of Mayor Ras J. Baraka and the Newark Trust for Education, headed by Ron Chalusian.

Superintendent of Schools Christopher D. Cerf said, “The Local Planning Meeting provided an important opportunity for parents, elected officials, and community stakeholders to comment on the future of NPS and more importantly, the education of Newark schoolchildren.” He continued, “It is vitally important that we listen to the interests of parents in ensuring their children have the best opportunity for success in education and in life.”

The meetings were held at Central High School, Belmont Runyon, Elliott Street, and Oliver Street Schools, and Speedway Academies.

Mayor Ras J. Baraka said, “We are interested in the well-being of our young people in Newark. Ultimately our goal is to make our young people successful and to create a pipeline of success from elementary school, to high school to college. He continued, we need your voice, your input and your engagement to ensure our children are a success in school and in life.”

The meeting focused on three core responsibilities according to the state Department of Education. The three areas discussed at the Local Planning Meetings were 1) School board Ethics and Expectations, 2) Hiring a Superintendent and 3) School Board, District and Community Collaboration Going Forward.” In addition the meeting focused on Core Responsibilities; including school board responsibilities, superintendent responsibilities and finally collective responsibilities.

Planning around the transition from state control to local control will continue. Next, the Newark School Board will implement the full return transition plan that includes; engaging in a superintendent search and hiring a superintendent; holding a public referendum to determine if school board members will be elected or be appointed by the Mayor; and identifying specific areas for further training for board members.

A study released by Harvard University shows that Newark schools are providing positive results for students and that reforms have empowered families to choose better schools for their children

 

[Newark, NJ – October 16, 2017] – A study released today by Harvard University adds to a growing body of evidence about the progress being made by Newark schools. The study out of Harvard’s Center for Education Policy and Research by researchers Thomas Kane, Douglas Staiger, et al, finds positive results when examining growth on net value added scores between 2010-11 and 15-16, and shows that ‘between-school reforms’ have driven a majority of this growth.

“This study confirms the progress that is being made in Newark schools and shows that reforms undertaken – particularly in areas like citywide enrollment and expansion of high quality schools – are making a real difference for Newark students. Whether you look at PARCC scores, student growth percentile, value-added scores, or graduation rates, student outcomes are trending in a positive direction in Newark. The data shows us that the seeds planted in earlier years are now yielding rewards for students. Today, thousands more Newark students are reading and doing math on grade level than just a few years ago and as a result, these students have a better chance at attending college or pursuing a meaningful career when they leave our schools” 

Overall, this information shows [see here to deeper analysis of report by NPS]:

• Newark Schools are providing better results for students. The study shows improvement in growth rates in recent years in ELA, and shows results in Math that are consistently higher than the state average. These findings are generally aligned with analysis NPS has shared in recent years that show results across all schools are improving for Newark students. 
• Reforms have empowered parents and they are choosing wisely. This analysis validates one of the basic bets made in Newark’s reforms: giving parents greater access to high-performing schools while closing the low-performing schools will have a positive and educationally meaningful impact on student achievement. The Kane paper reports consistent, positive value-added growth estimates for every year and every subject for the ‘between-school’ reforms – namely, expanding charters, closing the lowest performing charter and NPS schools, and universal enrollment.
• This is one more piece of data in a growing body of evidence that shows how reforms are now improving life outcomes for Newark students. While the study focuses on results using a very specific measure – growth on value added between 2010 and 2015-16 – the latest PARCC results show even more continued improvement. When you examine the improvement of these results over time, compare Newark’s results with those from other districts, and note that graduation rates during this period are also up more than 15 percentage points since 2010 (from around 60% to 77% in 2017), the impact becomes clear. The sum of these results show us that thousands more Newark students are reading and doing math on grade level, and graduating on time, than there were in 2010. This is the goal of any educational improvement effort and our hope is to build on this progress and continue to improve these outcomes for Newark students.

The authors compare the value added scores of Newark schools in ‘pre-reform years’ with those in 2015-16 (the study does not include data from the 2016-17 school year, as it was not yet available). The study also examines whether improvement is due to ‘within school reforms’ – changes that primarily impact performance at a specific school – or ‘between school reforms’ – changes that allow students to move between schools. The findings shared in the press release about the study include:

• Net growth in English: By 2015-16, Newark students in grades 4 through 8 in both district and charter schools had improved significantly in their net rate of growth in English.
• Proven strength in math: Prior to the reforms, Newark’s average rate of student achievement growth in math was above the state average. Net math achievement growth remained constant by 2015-16.
• Initial decline in growth rates: The rate of student achievement growth initially declined in both district and charter schools in English and math in the initial years of the reform, before improving in 2014-15 and 2015-16. 
• Majority of net growth caused by shifting student enrollment: Shifting enrollment from lower- to higher-achievement growth schools—due to between-school reforms such as school closures, new school openings, and expanded student choice—was responsible for 62 percent of the gain in English.
• K-8 charter school attendance more than doubled during reforms. Between 2010-11 and 2015-16, the proportion of Newark’s K-8 students attending charter schools rose from 14 percent to 32 percent as part of between-school reforms.

An additional study called “Moving Up: Progress in Newark’s Schools from 2010 to 2017” by researcher Jesse Margolis, PHD with MarGrady Research and New York University also became available last week with the release of publicly available state data. Dr. Margolis is an educational researcher who has analyzed essentially all publicly available data as it relates to Newark and connects it with other independent research. We thought this would be helpful context for the findings in Harvard’s paper.

• Finding #1:  Total public-school enrollment in Newark has increased over time, and is higher than at any point in recent history.
• Finding #2: In grades 3-8, Newark schools made significant strides in closing the achievement gap with the state and improved relative to similar high-need districts.
• Finding #3: Since 2012, Newark students’ growth has improved compared to students statewide with similar starting achievement levels.
• Finding #4: The high school graduation rate has increased dramatically from 2011 to 2017, improving at a faster rate than in the rest of the state.
• Finding #5: Replicating and extending other researchers’ analyses with more recent data produces similar evidence of growth Newark’s schools, specifically:
  • Finding 5A: Black students in Newark are three times more likely to attend a school with test scores above the state average today than they were in 2009.
  • Finding 5B: Controlling for poverty and ELL status, Newark students show significant gains in math and ELA scores between 2009 and 2017.

Student Assemblies, Arts and Displays, Community Activities, Staff Development and More Featured During the month of October

[Newark, NJ – October 12, 2017] Newark Public Schools, (NPS), along with other school districts throughout New Jersey, are recognizing National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month in October. NPS programs include student assemblies and staff development workshops that focus on safe school environments. The week of October 2 – 6 was Respect Week in schools throughout the state and Violence Awareness Week is October 16 – 20. 

“It is incumbent upon each of us as administrators to create programs and opportunities to engage the student population in programs that teach respect and acceptance,” said Robert Gregory, Deputy Superintendent of Newark Public Schools. “We have created a number of diverse programs to open the dialogue around bullying and to give students an opportunity to work among their peers to identify solutions to challenges.” 

Deputy Superintendent Gregory added that in some instances, NPS is bringing together social workers, members of the guidance team, administration, and other supports to “ensure our young scholars feel safe throughout their school experience.”

According to The National School Climate Center, one in three students report being bullied.  Schools should be one of the safest spaces for young people to engage with their peers, grow academically, and learn life lessons according to Dr. Sunne-Ryse Smith, Executive Director of Student Support Services. 

Dr. Smith said, “Newark Public Schools stand with districts around the country to promote National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, and create those spaces for our students. Through community partnerships and the commitment of school staff, NPS students, parents, and educators will engage in activities and thoughtful dialogue about inclusion, acceptance, bullying prevention, and respect throughout the month and beyond. Students deserve to feel secure when they go to school and we are committed to creating safe school communities.”

Throughout the month, NPS is teaching a curriculum that includes, Teaching Tolerance, Let’s Get Real and the National Bullying Prevention Classroom Toolkit. In addition, in the area of LGBTQI Rights, the curriculum includes the Harvey Milk Curriculum, and in the area of social justice, The Real World Social Justice Guide and finally, Teaching for Change.

According to Karen Fennell, Senior Manager of Operations and Compliance, who also serves as the HIB ABR District Coordinator, (Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying) (Anti-Bullying Rights), more than 50 schools in the District have already implemented programming and curriculum to create a bully-free environment, that promotes respect and acceptance of one another, whatever a student’s place is in life,” according to Ms. Fennell. 

For the remainder of the month, Ms. Fennell said we will be focusing on building safer communities as we participate in “Violence Awareness Week. After the month of October, schools will continue with programming that includes conflict resolution, celebrating differences,  social media responsibility and peer mediation.