Approximately 500 community members attended district’s strategic planning sessions

[Newark NJ – March 1, 2016] – Newark Public Schools’ (NPS) summarized the feedback that was collected in a final strategic planning session Thursday at Central High School. In total, approximately 500 community members attended the meetings over the last month, which were hosted in each ward and included parents, educators and community leaders.

“It has been encouraging to see the community come together over the last few weeks to have an open and honest dialogue about the strategies we should use to improve our schools,” said Superintendent Chris Cerf of Newark Public Schools. “We have received valuable feedback from these strategic planning meetings that will help us better serve students now and pave the way for a transition to local control in the near future. I look forward to continuing these important conversations with the Newark community to make sure we are doing everything in our power to provide an excellent education for our children.”

Each ward meeting was hosted by community-based organizations – Ironbound Community Corp., Newark Fairmont Promise Neighborhood and the Urban League, La Casa de Don Pedro, United Way of Essex & West Hudson, and Strong Healthy Community Initiative – as well as the local ward council person who helped facilitate several small-group discussions. Parents, educators and community leaders were encouraged to share their feedback and insight on the following subjects: curriculum and academics; student supports; great educators; community engagement; school planning and choice; accountability for progress; and operations, budgets and governance.

Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins hosted the Central Ward strategic planning session with the United Way of Essex and West Hudson on Thursday, February 4th, and was present at the final share-out meeting. “I had the honor of hosting a strategic planning session in the Central Ward last month and saw community members come together to talk about the best strategies to improve our children’s education,” said Councilwoman Chaneyfield-Jenkins. “We heard from many parents that they would like to see qualified principals and teachers in every school and classroom, and I am confident that their feedback will be critical as we plan for the district’s long-term success.”

The district presented preliminary findings Thursday that incorporated feedback collected during the five strategic planning sessions. Findings included all the notes that were taken across the previous five meetings as well as early results from a survey the district distributed at those meetings. Some high-level priorities that came out of these meetings included:

• Academics and curriculum
  • PreK
  • Arts
  • STEM
  • Humanities (literature, social studies), especially culturally relevant curriculum
• Student supports
  • Social and emotional supports
  • Safety, security and school culture
  • Academic supports such as smaller class sizes, tutoring, guidance counselors
• Great educators
  • Recognize and retain effective teachers and principals
  • Strong processes for recruiting and supporting
  • Coach, evaluate and provide feedback
• Community engagement
  • Expand partnerships
  • Support for English Language Learner (ELL) students and families
  • Advocacy training for parents, community members
• School planning and choice
  • Inform and involve community in decisions on school locations
  • Ward-specific assessments and quality options
  • Community schools: pilot and expand
• Accountability for progress
  • Help parents analyze info, make informed choices
  • Train district and school staff in using data for decisions
• Operations, budgets and governance
  • Improve services (food, transportation, etc.)
  • Update policies and train Board members
  • Student-based funding

The district gathered feedback from community members on these initial findings, and will continue to collect community input over the next few weeks through focus groups, one-on-one meetings and the community survey, which will remain open until March 4th. When all of the information is collected, the district will share a document with a more robust outline of goals and priorities at the end of March. Once that document is shared, the district will engage in another round of feedback throughout the months of April and May, before sharing a final Strategic Plan in June.

For more information about the Strategic Planning Process please visit: https://newark.apppresser.com/strategic-plan/.

Live Art Exhibition

[Newark, NJ – February 24, 2016] – Girls’ Academy of Newark will display a Live Art Exhibition in honor of Women’s History Month on March 1, 2016 8am at 279 Chancellor Avenue in Newark outside the Weequachic High School campus. Principal Williams explains, “The women represented in the art exhibit are courageous figurines in history who have worked to make an impact in the world. The girls who are creating and will participate in the exhibit have chosen to contribute to art in a way that furthers not only our school’s mission but women empowerment in general.”

The Live Art Exhibition is the opening of the Girls’ Academy of Newark month long celebration of Women’s History Month: Lead Like a GIRL: Educate|Empower|Advocate. The community is invited to come out and support the young ladies of Girls’ Academy and to learn about women who have impacted society and inspire young ladies to strive for success.

In the event of inclement weather the Live Art Exhibition will be held on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Heroines of their own stories, the scholars at Girls’ Academy of Newark enter to learn and leave to achieve and ready to surpass expectations. At Girls’ the race for excellence has no finish line!

Interactive event designed to bridge the gap between education and employment for Newark high school students

[Newark, NJ – February 29, 2016] – Schools That Can Newark (STC Newark) in partnership with the Newark City of Learning Collaborative (NCLC) hosted an interactive event Saturday at Rutgers University – Newark for Newark district, charter and independent school students called “Bridging the Gap between Education and Employment”. The event was open to students and alumni from all Newark high schools as well as school leaders and industry representatives and featured workshops about networking and job interviewing skills.

“It is essential for our students to develop networking skills and relationships in the community as they continue their education and pursue a career,” said Superintendent Christopher D. Cerf of NPS. “Schools That Can and the Newark City of Learning Collaborative are giving Newark’s young people an important opportunity to learn what industry leaders need from our future workforce, and I look forward to partnering with these organizations to making sure our students graduate from high school college and career ready.”

STC Newark and NCLC are both committed to increasing educational and job opportunities for Newark’s young people to ensure they are college and career ready upon graduation.

Erin Sweeney, Executive Director of STC Newark, helped organize Saturday’s event. “Schools That Can is committed to giving Newark’s students and schools access to community and industry leaders who can share valuable insight about the kind of skills our young people need in order to compete in today’s global economy,” said Sweeney. “It was exciting to see the conversations and relationships that came out of Saturday’s event, and we believe that our efforts will ultimately translate to creating jobs for our students right here in Newark.”

Students and alumni attended workshops on several topics that will help students as they continue their education and pursue careers later in life. Topics included: identifying and developing mentor relationships; leveraging social media to create a personal brand; how turn an idea into a product; how to pursue a career in law; how to leverage online resources to make studying and working more efficient; and how to apply and interview for a job.

“The Newark City of Learning Collaborative was proud to partner with Schools That Can to bring business leaders and students together to talk about how we can create a 21st Century workforce right here in Newark,” said Mahako Etta, Program Manager of NCLC. “NCLC is dedicated to increasing the graduation rate and the number of Newark students with postsecondary degrees and certificates in our community, and our business community is an essential part of making that a reality.”

Participating schools included Bard High School Early College, Barringer Academy of STEAM, Christ the King Prep, East Side High School, Fast Track Academy, Great Oaks Charter High School, Newark Collegiate Academy, People’s Prep, the Paulo Freire School and University High School.

First year of three-year study shows that educators find evaluation system to be an accurate, fair and useful way to measure performance

[Newark, NJ – February 26] – American Institutes for Research (AIR) shared findings today from the first of a multi-year independent study about Newark Public Schools’ (NPS) educator evaluation and compensation system. Overall, the report shows that a majority of NPS teachers and school leaders perceive the new system as a valid, accurate, fair and useful way to measure performance. Researchers also found that the district retains educators who are rated effective or highly effective at higher rates than those with lower ratings.

The study, the first of three annual reports in a three-year evaluation by AIR, was commissioned by NPS to review the implementation and impact of the NPS-Newark Teachers Union (NTU) teacher contract and associated initiatives designed to improve teaching effectiveness and, ultimately, student achievement.

“We are grateful to the researchers at AIR,” said Superintendent Christopher D. Cerf of NPS. “We think these findings show promising progress, reinforcing what we already know – that we are retaining our best teachers. We will continue to listen to feedback from our educators and will use the information they have shared thus far to continue to improve our implementation of these programs. We are committed to continuing an objective and transparent evaluation of our programs and initiatives going forward.”

In 2012-13, NPS ratified a new contract with its teachers union to implement a set of initiatives designed to improve teaching effectiveness and student achievement. Some key components of the contract included: a new educator evaluation system, a differentiated teacher compensation system, extended learning time in a subset of schools and more school-based decision making regarding staffing.

Sixty-five percent of NPS teachers and school leaders participated in the AIR surveys about the new contract. Major findings include:

• The new evaluation system is perceived as valid, accurate, fair, and useful by educators. Both teachers and school leaders also reported that the evaluation system provides useful and actionable feedback that can inform teachers’ instructional practices. More specifically, 71 percent of teachers and 98 percent of school leaders agreed that the evaluations provide an accurate measure of teacher performance; and 78 percent of teachers and 96 percent of school leaders indicated that the current evaluation system provides useful feedback and has led teachers to change the way they teach.
• Teachers who were rated higher on the new evaluation system were more likely to remain teaching in Newark schools. In 2013-14, one year after the system was revamped, teachers rated as “effective” and “highly effective” were retained at rates that exceeded 90 percent, while only 72 percent of “partially effective” and 63 percent of “ineffective” teachers returned to the classroom.
• A majority of educators found extended learning time for student instruction and teacher collaboration in schools to be useful. Of those who reported that they work at schools with extended learning time, 83 percent of teachers and 91 percent of school leaders indicated that time for student instruction was added. Of that group, 66 percent of teachers and 68 percent of school leaders said the extra time was helpful.
• While support for the current compensation system was mixed among teachers and school leaders, a majority of teachers and school leaders reported that the bonuses should be available; specifically, 63 percent of the teachers who reported that they are paid on the traditional scale, 74 percent of the teachers who reported that they are paid on the universal scale, and 86 percent of all school leaders indicated that the financial bonuses offered under the universal salary scale should be available. Additionally, those who described themselves as “knowledgeable” about the teacher contract had a more positive attitude about the compensation system and other related initiatives.

“We are very encouraged by educator views that the evaluation system is an accurate and fair way to measure effectiveness. A strong evaluation system is the foundation for a strong system that will allow us to provide accurate feedback to help our educators learn and grow,” noted Larisa Shambaugh, Interim Chief Talent Officer. “We will examine the data and feedback provided across other parts of the system, particularly in areas like compensation, to see how we can continue to help educators improve, retain those who are most effective, and work towards our goal of ensuring that there is a high quality educator in every classroom.”

In addition to the key findings, the report shared some recommendations about ways to improve educator evaluation and compensation systems. Researchers emphasized that since these findings reflect results from the first year of a three-year study that certain limitations should be considered when interpreting results. NPS will continue to work with schools and educators to collect data and feedback, and will build towards a more comprehensive and in-depth picture of these systems over the next two years.

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About AIR
Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.

Newark Public Schools partnered with the LitWorld, My Very Own Library, City of Newark, Scholastic Book Fairs, United Way of Essex and West Hudson, Foundation for Newark’s Future, Read & Believe and others to promote literacy

[Newark, NJ – February 25, 2016] – Newark Public Schools (NPS) helped launch global literacy nonprofit LitWorld’s World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) yesterday in partnership with the My Very Own Library (MVOL) literacy program at Ridge Street School. World Read Aloud Day is an international celebration of literacy that encourages students to celebrate the power of words and inspires a generation of readers. The district partnered with the MVOL program as well as the Foundation for Newark’s Future, the United Way of Essex and West Hudson, the City of Newark, LitWorld, Scholastic Book Fairs, Read & Believe, and others to kick off the celebration. MVOL, a local Newark literacy organization, is present in 23 Newark Public Schools and helps over 15,000 NPS students and their families build their own home libraries. MVOL will give away over 150,000 new books to Newark families this school year.

“Newark Public Schools was excited to participate in World Read Aloud Day to underscore how important it is for young people to embrace reading and learning,” said Superintendent Christopher D. Cerf of Newark Public Schools. “Instilling a passion for reading in our children at a young age will give them the creative and critical thinking skills they need for long-term academic and career success.”

WRAD is celebrated in over 100 countries by millions of young people around the world. Renowned literacy advocate and founder of LitWorld and World Read Aloud Day, Pam Allyn, was present for the official kickoff.

“Literacy is a basic human right, helping individuals to gain independence, economic freedom, and a fulfilling life,” said Allyn. “We will continue to work for children’s right to get access to quality literacy experiences. World Read Aloud Day is just one arrow in our quiver, and we will continue our work through all of our programs towards eradicating literacy altogether.”

The WRAD kickoff at Ridge Street School was part of a broader district-wide literacy celebration. There were several MVOL book fairs and workshops taking place, as well as other literacy events that included United Way’s Celebrity Read, a volunteer read aloud, and visits from award winning children’s book authors, Gordon Korman, Natalie Standiford, Tiffany Strelitz-Haber, and Kristen Rocha at eight participating MVOL schools.

“World Read Aloud Day and the district-wide literacy celebration are important initiatives to expose our children and their families to the joy of exploring our world through books,” said Mayor Ras J. Baraka. “Literacy training at all levels from grade school to adulthood not only helps individuals but is at the core of empowering Newark residents with the ability to get good jobs and to participate in the transformation of our city.”

“We are excited to have partnered with Newark Public Schools and the Foundation for Newark’s Future on World Read Aloud Day,” said Catherine Wilson, Acting Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Essex and West Hudson. “It is imperative that we empower our children and align them with the necessary tools for success. The My Very Own Library program reinforces the importance of reading and students with a broad selection of books that will allow them to build home libraries; bringing the importance of literacy beyond the classroom.”

“It is so important to develop programs that promote literacy in our communities and cultivate a love of reading from an early age in our young people,” said Kimberly Baxter McLain, President of the Foundation for Newark’s Future, which founded MVOL. “A cross-section of leaders from both Newark and around the country are standing united to ensure that Newark’s youth and families have access to high quality books and the tools necessary to foster a community-wide love of literacy. The Foundation for Newark’s Future is proud to impact thousands of Newark children and families through our research-based literacy initiatives and thrilled to join so many community organizations in this partnership.”

The City of Newark is one of six MVOL locations throughout the country including Chicago, Milwaukee, California, Delaware, and the Dominican Republic, all of which hosted World Read Aloud Day events.

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About World Read Aloud Day

World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words and creates a community of readers taking action to show the world that the right to literacy belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day is celebrated by millions of people in more than 100 countries thanks to people like you who participate and spread the word across the globe.

About LitWorld

LitWorld is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization empowering young people to author lives of independence through quality literacy learning experiences. Founded by renowned author and literacy expert Pam Allyn, LitWorld creates global change by increasing literacy rates across the United States and worldwide in 25 countries. With over 750 million people in the world who cannot read, LitWorld plays an important and pivotal role in advocating for children’s rights as readers. Serving children living in challenging environments, the LitWorld best practices for reading, writing and storytelling are replicated across the world.

About Pam Allyn

Pam Allyn is a world-renowned literacy expert, author and motivational speaker. She is the founding director of LitWorld, a global literacy initiative serving children across the United States and in more than 60 countries, and LitLife, a cutting-edge consulting group working with schools to enrich best practice teaching methods and building curriculum for reading and writing. With her team at LitWorld, Pam created and leads World Read Aloud Day, a worldwide tribute to the power of literacy that happens every March.

About FNF

Foundation for Newark’s Future is an education foundation working to improve educational outcomes for Newark students. The Foundation is part of a $200 million campaign for Newark’s public schools, established in 2010 with a $100 million matching grant from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and quickly met with a $25M investment by the Pershing Square Foundation, among others. The Foundation invests in programs and initiatives across Newark that create large-scale change through short-term philanthropy.

My Very Own Library

My Very Own Library (MVOL) encourages and supports students’ love of reading by providing them the opportunity to choose brand new, free books to build their own home libraries. MVOL is rooted in research indicating that students foster a life-long love of reading and demonstrate stronger literacy skills as they build home libraries. MVOL is a comprehensive literacy program that could be replicated in other schools and communities.