Press Releases

NPS Hosts 30th Annual Title I Parent Conference with Expanded Programming Over Three Days

Nearly 600 parents and community members attended the conference that focused on parent partnership and embracing diversity


[Newark, NJ – December 5, 2016] – Newark Public Schools (NPS) and the Offices of Title 1 and Family and Community Engagement hosted the 30th Annual Title 1 Parent Conference at Robert Treat Hotel in Newark. The theme of this year’s conference was “Parents as Partners”, which emphasized the importance of parent involvement and embracing diversity. In recognition of the 30th anniversary of the conference, this year’s programming was expanded over three days which gave approximately 600 parents and community members the opportunity to attend.

“The Title 1 Parent Conference is great way to educate parents and community members about tools and resources that exist to help our children to excel,” said Christopher D. Cerf, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools. “Parent involvement is critical in promoting student achievement and growth. It is also important to create a learning environment that embraces diversity so students feel safe and nurtured. The 30th Annual Title 1 Parent Conference was a great success, and I look forward to working with parents, educators and community members to continue to encourage parent involvement and highlight the importance of diversity.”

The Title 1 Parent Conference is organized by the Offices of Title 1 and Family and Community Engagement and offers informative workshops for parents and community members about district procedures, policies and curriculum that are helping to set Newark’s children up for a successful 21st Century education and career.

“Every year, the Title 1 Parent Conference shows us the progress the district has made in reaching out to and engaging with community members,” said Margarita Muñiz, Executive Director of Family and Community Engagement at NPS. “We are very proud of the work our parents did this year to help plan this conference. Parents have a significant impact on student success, and it is important to continue offering programs like the Title 1 Parent Conference that will help us reach more parents and give them the resources they need to improve student outcomes.”

Over the three day conference, parents participated in workshops that were focused on the following:

  • November 30: Pre-Kindergarten to 8th Grade and Special Education
  • December 1: Bilingual Education
  • December 2: Secondary Education and College Fair

Throughout the three days, parents had the opportunity to attend one of 25 different break-out sessions hosted by parents, district staff, community partners and board members. These sessions were planned by a committee of parents and district officials who were tasked with creating programming that benefited all community members.

“Unity and inclusiveness is a most appropriate theme for this conference,” noted Janet Chavis, Executive Director of Federal Programs and Grants. “It is so important that we as an educational institution support our families and schools as they work together to make sure that children of all backgrounds – those who speak different languages, have learning disabilities or learning differences – are welcomed as classmates, valued as learners and empowered to succeed.”

Over 100 Newark Public Schools Physical Education Teachers Attend Fuel Up to Play 60 Training at NY Giants Fieldhouse

Fuel Up to Play 60 Initiative is a school nutrition and exercise program launched by National Dairy Council and NFL in collaboration with the USDA

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Over 100 Newark Physical Education teachers attended the Fuel up to Play 60 training at the New York Giants’ Fieldhouse with former NY Giant, Amani Toomer (right) to promote student health and wellness.

[Newark, NJ - November 17, 2016] Over 100 Newark Public Schools (NPS) teachers participated in the Fuel Up to Play 60 training event at the New York Giants’ Fieldhouse on Wednesday, October 26 to promote student health and wellness. At the event, teachers received training in flag football and participating schools received free equipment.

“On behalf of Newark Public Schools, I would like thank our partners at Fuel Up to Play 60 for their generous donation to our schools,” said Christopher D. Cerf, Superintendent of NPS. “Initiatives like Fuel Up to Play 60 will teach our students how to eat right and live a healthy and active lifestyle at an early age, setting them up for success in the future.”

Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical education program launched by the National Dairy Council and NFL, in collaboration with the USDA. The initiative promotes health and wellness and encourages students to engage in 60 minutes of physical activity every day. The partnership with NPS was initiated by the American Dairy Association, in collaboration with the NFL.

NJPAC & NPS Announce $450,000 Grant in Support of Arts Education for Newark Students

njcom$450K grant will introduce Newark students to NJPAC | A grant awarded to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center will “significantly increase” the number of Newark students invited to attend performances and assemblies, allowing them to experience the arts in their home city…The two-year grant, taken from what’s left of the $100 million donation given to Newark Public Schools by Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan in 2010, seeks to boost performance and assembly from about 15,000 to 24,000 participants…”Our district’s partnership with NJPAC is a pivotal step toward ensuring that all Newark students are able to explore a variety of learning opportunities that will enhance their educational journey,” NPS Superintendent Christopher D. Cerf said… In addition to helping students…the grant will also provide professional development programs for 183 arts teachers from 64 schools throughout the district. The eight-day training will include sessions on instructional strategies, led by professional artists and other teachers. On Wednesday, teachers gathered for their first professional development training experience with NJPAC, which included curriculum workshops in the morning and arts discipline workshops on the “Creative Process” in the afternoon. (NJ.com, 10/26/16)

wbgoNewark Schools Announce Arts Education Grant | A new grant is giving kids in Newark, a leg up when it comes to arts education. The $450,000 grant, awarded by the Community Foundation of New Jersey and through a partnership with NJPAC, will enable thousands of Newark students to experience live, dance, theatre, and musical performances both in and outside the classroom…The grant will also provide development and training for nearly 200 district art teachers led by professional artists and musicians. (WBGO News, 10/26/16)

njstagelogoNJPAC & Newark Public Schools Announce $450,000 Grant To Support Arts Education | A $450,000 grant in support of arts education will significantly increase the number of Newark students invited to enjoy world-class performances at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years and will help Newark Public Schools (NPS) provide high quality professional development for hundreds of art teachers. Funds awarded to NJPAC by the Community Foundation of New Jersey will allow kindergarteners through 12th-graders in Newark Public Schools to experience the lively arts in their home city…The number of NPS students attending SchoolTime performances at NJPAC and in-school assemblies combined will rise dramatically in each academic year, from about 15,000 to 24,000 participants…“It’s been proven time and again that an immersion in the arts is essential to a child’s journey of self-discovery and is a strong factor in developing many other academic skills,” said NJPAC President and CEO John Schreiber. (New Jersey Stage, 10/26/16)

The Opportunity Youth Network Announces Comprehensive Strategy to Support Newark’s Most Disconnected Youth

The City of Newark, Newark Public Schools, Rutgers University-Newark and Community-Based Organizations partner to open a Reengagement Center to serve as hub for students who have dropped out of high school

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[Newark, NJ - November 3, 2016] The Opportunity Youth Network (OYN), a partnership that consists of the City of Newark, Newark Public Schools (NPS), Rutgers University-Newark and several community-based organizations, today announced a comprehensive strategy to improve outcomes for the city’s most disconnected youth. As the first step of this strategy, OYN will open a Reengagement Center (REC) that places out-of-school youth into city programs and serves as a hub for all disengaged students in Newark.

The term “opportunity youth” is a phrase used nationally to describe young people between the ages of 16 to 24 – who are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor market. Despite rising graduation rates in recent years, there are approximately 7,000 disengaged and out-of-school youth in the City of Newark.

“This partnership is an important step for our city,” Said Mayor Ras J. Baraka. “The Opportunity Youth Network is already a key partner in our Street Academy and South Ward Community Schools. We know that here in Newark, too many of our young people disconnect from school or jobs, and then get overlooked by our traditional support systems. The Opportunity Youth Network Reengagement Center will provide us with a unified strategy to support these young people, and help us harness their untapped potential to lead more successful and fulfilling lives.”

The OYN has developed a comprehensive strategy to ensure the broad network of programs available throughout Newark are effectively working together to reengage youth. The core goals of this strategy include:

  1. Opening a Reengagement Center (REC) to serve as a hub for opportunity youth: OYN will open a youth reengagement center to help place all returning out-of-school youth in schools and programs – and serve as a hub for all suspensions, transfers and placement of significantly disengaged students.
  2. Expanding and better coordinating alternative education options: This partnership will expand and coordinate a portfolio of alternative education and workforce development programs across Newark – including community-based organization (CBO) programs, NPS Transfer Schools, and an alternative education charter school.
  3. Bringing together community leaders to improve policy: This partnership will convene key community leaders and OYN partners to focus on youth-related issues to improve policies.
  4. Enhancing data sharing between organizations: The coordination of these groups will help improve data sharing and coordination of services between systems and organizations that serve the city’s young people.
  5. Collecting feedback from youth on their needs: OYN will also establish formal mechanisms to gather feedback from young people to improve city education and employment services.

“We define our mission as not only providing a quality education to the 35,000 young people that currently attend NPS, but also to all other Newark children – including those who have dropped out,” said Superintendent Christopher D. Cerf of NPS. “While there are many programs across the city that support this population, these programs lack the coordination and focus needed to be effective. The Opportunity Youth Network will help solve that problem, and help us fulfill our mission of providing these young people with the education they need to be successful.”

The REC will serve as a one-stop-shop for disconnected youth looking for reenrollment and transfer services. The staff there, a combination of OYN, NPS, and Newark City employees, will conduct an academic and social assessment in order to determine the best school placement for each student. REC staff will then ensure that all students are matched to a school or program that meets their academic, social-emotional and professional needs. Once placed, The REC will follow the student throughout their transition into their new school or program for a period of 90 days.

“We are strongly committed to the initiative because it builds and strengthens the school to college to career continuum for these youth,” noted Nancy Cantor, Chancellor of Rutgers University Newark. “Moreover, it will enable the university to learn how to more effectively meet the challenges and maximize the assets that opportunity youth bring to the college classroom while expanding the efforts of the Newark City of Learning Collaborative to broaden and strengthen the college pipeline.

The OYN framework is based upon proven youth development principles and evidence-based practices previously used by YouthBuild Newark, a youth and community development agency that has served Greater Newark’s disconnected youth for over 12 years. OYN is working with six partners to expand the current offerings available to this population across the city. These organizations include: La Casa De Don Pedro, Urban League of Essex County, New Community Corporation and Rutgers TEEM Gateway, Mayor Baraka’s Street Academy and Leaders for Life.

“I’ve spent my entire career working with young people who are disengaged from our traditional systems,” added Robert Clark, Founding Executive Director of YouthBuild Newark, and lead visionary for OYN. “I think what makes this moment unique in Newark is that we are recognizing the assets these young men and women can be for our city and working with partner organizations to build capacity across the city so that we can take a more comprehensive and coordinated approach than ever before to tackle this challenge.”

Each organization will become a full service provider for up to 50 students in both high school equivalency and workforce development programming – each with their own unique offerings. These offerings will supplement the two alternative education high schools at NPS, Newark Leadership Academy and Fast Track Success Academy. In addition, Mayor Baraka’s Street Academy – a new program created to reengage disconnected youth through social-emotional learning, civic proficiency, community outreach and volunteerism – will help connect OYN staff with disengaged youth.

“We are already seeing the benefits a partnership of this magnitude can have for our young people,” Ray Ocasio, the Executive Director of La Case De Don Pedro shared. “This collaboration not only will help us serve more students, but will also help us better prepare these young people for success by matching the services we provide with their needs.”

“Newark stands out for the scale and comprehensiveness of its approach,” noted Lili Allen, Associate Director, Reconnection Strategies and Designs, Jobs for the Future. “Notably, Newark's approach starts with a reengagement center that leads to individual academic plans to support placement of youth into education and workforce programming, an extensive data system to track progress and inform practice and policy, and a scale strategy that includes a charter school designed specifically to serve the opportunity youth population. All of this is supported by a robust cross-sector collaborative focused on policy changes to address challenges youth face inside and outside their communities and supports pathways to academic attainment and economic security for opportunity youth.”

About the Opportunity Youth Network
The Opportunity Youth Network (OYN) is a public-private partnership initiative dedicated to providing educational and support services to Newark’s most vulnerable youth. In December 2015, the City of Newark, Newark Public Schools, Rutgers University-Newark, the Newark City of Learning Collaborative, the Prudential Foundation, the Victoria Foundation, and the Community Foundation of New Jersey partnered to form OYN to address Newark’s disengagement crisis and establish a network of campuses and programs led by local community based organizations (CBOs) to provide educational, social and job training services throughout the city. The OYN believes that by investing in our young people’s education, the city’s workforce will be strengthened, the rate of dropouts will decrease, and the lives of thousands of school-aged youth will be set on a trajectory for success.

Newark Public Schools Students Attend the Largest Poetry Event in North America

The Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival was held in Newark’s downtown Arts District for the fourth time since 2010

[Newark, NJ – October 28, 2016] Students from Newark Public Schools (NPS) attended High School Day at the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, the largest poetry event in North America, held in Newark, New Jersey. For four days, Newark’s vibrant downtown Arts District was transformed into a poetry village featuring some of the most celebrated, diverse and vibrant poets and spoken word artists in the city. Over 5,000 students registered for this day, in addition to hundreds of other chaperones, teachers, and general attendees.

“We are so fortunate the Dodge Poetry Festival has found its home in Newark,” said Christopher D. Cerf, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools. “It is a privilege for our city to host this exciting and distinguished cultural event that gives Newark Public Schools students access to some of the world’s greatest poets.”

Students from Malcolm X Shabazz, East Side, Science Park, Barringer STEAM, American History, Bard High School Early College Newark, Arts High School, Barringer Academy of the Arts and Humanities, Weequahic and Central High School all participated in High School Students Day. High School Student Day gives participating students a chance hear from poets from diverse backgrounds who offer perspective on the world that is unlike anything they’ve previously experienced.

Throughout the day there were a variety of events available for students, including readings, sessions, storytelling, musicians and discussions with over 60 poets, from our most celebrated to some of the most promising and engaging younger poets—including Festival poets Martín Espada, Claudia Rankine, Billy Collins and Elizabeth Alexander who took the stage at Prudential Hall in the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and other partner venues throughout downtown Newark.

“Margaret El, Special Assistant for the Arts for Newark Public Schools, was our champion,” said Ysabel Y. Gonzalez, Assistant Director at the Dodge Poetry Program. “We are thankful for her support, along with all of the NPS principals, vice principals, and teachers who created an opportunity for NPS students to meet contemporary poets. They made a statement by bringing high school students to the Festival: poetry and the arts are crucial for our kids’ development and growth as young citizens in America. They experienced poetry as relevant, accessible and exciting!”

High School Student Day is free to all students and chaperones—and this year, the Victoria Foundation made it possible for Newark Public High Schools to attend by covering the costs of bus transportation. In addition, several Festival poets visited three NPS high schools, including Barringer STEAM, Malcolm X Shabazz, and Central High School.

The Festival is held every two years, and the Dodge Poetry Program offers poet visits after and leading up to the next Festival. Email ygonzalez@nullgrdodge.org to coordinate your school’s poet visit, or visit www.dodgepoetry.org for more information.

Newark Students Participate in Boys to Leaders Foundation’s 2016 Latino Youth Leadership Conference

Boys To Leaders Foundation, Inc. empowers young men, providing leadership training and mentorship opportunities

Over 100 Newark students participated in a variety of professional development workshops at the fourth annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference at Rutgers University Newark
Over 100 Newark students participated in a variety of professional development workshops at the fourth annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference at Rutgers University Newark

[Newark, NJ – October 26, 2016] Over 100 Newark students participated in the Boys to Leaders Foundation’s fourth annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference at Rutgers University-Newark on Saturday, October 22. Throughout the conference, students engaged in the Boys to Leaders Foundation’s signature leadership training, as well as various workshops focused around college affordability, athletic scholarships, and life skills development within the Latino community.

“The Boys to Leaders Foundation has been an important asset to our community, exposing talented young men across the city to leadership development opportunities that they can utilize to help advance their lives both academically and personally,” said Christopher Cerf, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools (NPS). “NPS values the resources that the Latino Youth Leadership Conference provides to our students, as the foundation continues to fulfill its mission by empowering, motivating, and inspiring Newark’s young men to achieve their fullest potential.”

Throughout the day, the conference workshops were facilitated by Jason Cortés and Engelbert Santana of Rutgers University-Newark, as well as Da’Mon Merkerson from Temple University and Judge Severiano Lisboa, III of Hudson County. Juan Cartagena, President and General Counsel of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, was the keynote speaker of the conference. Additionally, Newark’s North Ward Councilman, Anibal Ramos, Jr., also attended the event, awarding a scholarship from the Anibal Ramos Jr. Civic Association to Joseph Terrones, who graduated from Robert Treat Academy and is currently in his second year at Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington.

The Boys to Leaders Foundation, Inc., founded in 2013 by Sara Peña of Newark, opens up their annual conference to young men ranging from ages 13 to 20.