Newark Public Schools, La Casa de Don Pedro, and United Way of Essex & West Hudson host strategic planning meeting series in North and Central Wards

[Newark NJ – February 5, 2016] – More than 130 members of the community attended Newark Public Schools’ (NPS) strategic planning sessions this week in both the North and Central wards. Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr. and the La Casa de Don Pedro hosted the North Ward meeting at Barringer High School on Wednesday evening. Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins and the United Way of Essex and West hosted the Central Ward session at Quitman Street Community School on Thursday evening. These meetings were part of a series of five strategic planning meetings that the district has been hosting in each ward.

The Council members helped facilitate several small-group discussions in which parents, educators and community leaders were encouraged to share their feedback and insight on the following subjects:

• Curriculum and academic programs
• Student supports
• Education development, effectiveness and retention
• School planning and choice
• Data use, measurement and accountability
• Operations, finance and governance
• Community engagement

The purpose of these meetings is to discuss how the district can best plan for success in the years ahead. At the end of the meeting all attendees were asked to complete an engagement survey which included a comprehensive list of questions that gathered further information and input from the community. All feedback will be shared at a final meeting on Thursday, February 25 where the district will present a draft plan for consideration before presenting the final plan to the public.

For more information about upcoming community engagement meetings, or any other details related to the Strategic Planning Process please visit: https://newark.apppresser.com/strategic-plan/.

Bedtime Math app is currently being piloted in six Newark Public Schools for Prekindergarten – 2nd grade students

[Newark, NJ – February 5, 2016] – Newark Public Schools (NPS) hosted an informational workshop at Ridge Street School for Newark parents using “Bedtime Math,” a free application designed to make math fun for kids. The app is the brainchild of Laura Overdeck, a trained astrophysicist and lifelong math fan. She founded Bedtime Math in 2012, a New Jersey-based non-profit organization dedicated to making the nightly math problem as common as the bedtime story. The Bedtime Math app, validated by University of Chicago researchers, is currently being piloted with families from six Newark schools, including Ridge Street School, for students in Prekindergarten through 2nd grade.

“Math is something every child should embrace with excitement and confidence,” said Overdeck. “Yet too many adults and kids fear math. The Bedtime Math app is a wonderful tool for parents to spark math conversation at home in an easy, kid-friendly way, so kids can learn to love math and excel at it in school.”

During the workshop, Darlene DeVries, Special Assistant of Mathematics for NPS, demonstrated how parents can download the app using a specific link Bedtime Math created that allows NPS to track usage back to each individual classroom. DeVries also walked parents through how to use the app.

“Bedtime Math is a fantastic tool to make math fun, exciting and relevant for our children and parents,” said DeVries. “The Bedtime Math app is a great parent-engagement activity that can be part of any home routine: dinnertime, bath time, breakfast time. We are very excited about the impact it’s having on our young students across the district.”

Families from the following six Newark Schools are currently participating in the program: Ivy Hill Elementary School, McKinley Elementary School, Ridge Street School, Harriet Tubman School, Quitman Street Community School and Cleveland Elementary School. The district plans to expand the program to include students in grades 3-5 in the six pilot schools and eventually districtwide.

About Bedtime Math Foundation

Bedtime Math Foundation is a nonprofit organization that seeks to put the fun and discovery back into learning math. Its core product is a zany online math problem that parents can do with their kids every day, to make recreational math as common and beloved as the bedtime story. Bedtime Math is also the creator of Crazy 8s, a lively, hands-on after-school math club that has been launched in more than 5,000 locations nationwide. Bedtime Math and Crazy 8s are registered trademarks of Bedtime Math Foundation. For more information, visit www.bedtimemath.org.

District uses recurring training sessions in a continued effort to develop highly effective teachers who are preparing Newark students for college and 21st century careers

[Newark, NJ – February 4, 2016] – Newark Public Schools (NPS) held professional development sessions focusing on literacy, math, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) earlier this week at the Marion Bolden Center, part of a district-wide professional development effort that is underway this year. The Leadership Institute for Teacher Teams (LIFTT) sessions train teachers from 60 schools across the district to facilitate support and coaching at the school level to improve instruction and curriculum implementation. Yesterday, LIFTT teachers across the district had the opportunity to share the ideas and strategies they learned with their colleagues during their district-wide professional development day.

“The district is committed to advancing high quality teachers who are creating innovative learning environments for our young people,” said Superintendent Christopher D. Cerf of NPS. “Our district-wide professional development and LIFTT sessions ensure that our educators have the resources and skills they need in order to ensure our students are college and career ready.”

LIFTT has transformed the way the district coaches and supports school leaders and teacher teams to help them improve curriculum implementation and use data to drive instruction. On Monday, NPS hosted LIFTT sessions in literacy and science. The science LIFTT session focused on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and IQWST (Investigating & Questioning our World Through Science & Technology), a new core science curriculum that is being launched in Spring 2016. IQWST will be used to implement NGSS in grades 6 through 8. Utilizing the literacy Performance Based Assessment (PBA) from the interim assessment, literacy LIFTT teachers identified trends to utilize student writing as an instructional tool. Leaders developed action plans leveraging high-impact instructional strategies such as “Exploit and Adapt”, “My Favorite No”, “Exemplar Study” and “Student Conferencing”.

And on Tuesday, LIFTT teachers in math deepened their understanding of what the PARCC exams expect students to be able to do and explored what the implications of these expectations are for instruction. They learned specific strategies for how to ensure that lessons both build students’ conceptual understanding of math and develop their ability to create viable arguments about math as well as critique the reasoning of classmates.

“Over the last several years, with the goal of improving student learning in every classroom, we have made key changes to our curricula, interim assessments, instructional technology, and the ways that we coach and support educators in leveraging these tools,” shared Caleb Perkins, Special Assistant for Curriculum at NPS. “These changes take time and our belief is that in the coming years, NPS educators will use these tools to better prepare our students for more rigorous standards. LIFTT sessions will not only help our educators improve our students’ PARCC scores, but they will also prepare them for college and 21st century careers.”

The district has made key investments in recent years to improve access to technology, curriculum, coaching and testing services to help educators and students as they adjust to the new standards and more rigorous online testing required by the PARCC exam:

• Educator Coaching and Support: The district has implemented the Principal Leadership Institute (PLI), the Vice Principal Leadership Institute (VPLI), Leadership Institute for Teacher Teams (LIFTT), and Digital Learning Institute (DLI) all of which have changed the way the district coaches and supports school leaders and teacher teams to enhance the implementation of college readiness standards and data driven instruction;
• More Rigorous and Inclusive Curriculum: The district has also taken steps to ensure that all students can access these more rigorous curricula across all grades and subjects by implementing Universal Design for Learning;
• Technology in the Classroom: The district has made significant, nationally-recognized investments in technology. Schools are implementing innovative, curriculum aligned programs to prepare students for college and career;
• Improved Formative Assessment: This school year, the district also implemented Measured Progress Interim Assessments which is directly aligned with PARCC providing students with technology enhanced assessment experiences. This formative tool will provide educators with actionable data that enable teachers to make real-time changes to their instruction and student support methods.

Families exploring 2016-2017 school year options have until February 29th to complete Newark Enrolls application

[Newark, NJ – January 30, 2016] – This Saturday, more than 1,000 people attended the Newark Enrolls School Fair hosted by Newark Public Schools (NPS) at Central High School. Attendees learned more about their school options and received assistance in the Newark Enrolls application process. Newark families with students in grades prekindergarten through 12 who are exploring school options for the 2016-2017 school year have until Monday, February 29 to complete a Newark Enrolls application.

“It is encouraging to see families come out to learn more about the great education that the City of Newark has to offer our young people,” said Superintendent Christopher D. Cerf of Newark Public Schools. “We believe it is crucial for parents to make well-informed decisions about their child’s academic future. By attending events like this, families are one step closer to ensuring their children are matched with a school that best meets their needs.”

Superintendent Cerf, School Advisory Board Chair Ariagna Perello and Sarah Friedland, director of the 2013 award-winning documentary The Rink about Branch Brook’s roller rink park, welcomed and encouraged families to learn about their school options in Newark. Chairperson Perello and Friedland also served as panelists to judge a school spirit video contest and awarded University Heights Charter School (1st), Elliott Street (2nd) and Belmont Runyon (3rd) as the School Spirit video winners. East Side High School (1st), Great Oaks Charter School (2nd) and Arts High School (3rd) received School Spirit videos for the high school portion of the competition. Finally, East Side High School and Ann Street School were awarded the People’s Choice award winners, based on the number YouTube likes their video received since December 2015. Click here to view the school spirit video contest winners.

“When my collaborator, Ryan Joseph, and I made The Rink, our documentary about Newark’s Branch Brook Park Roller Skating Center, we were interested in showing a place where people come together to build a community that is creative and positive. It was such a joy to watch that exact thing happen in all of the Newark school spirit videos,” said Sarah Friedland. “The love these students have for their schools and the high level of creative and professional work that went into these videos is impressive and moving.”

All attendees received onsite support in the application process. Families who were unable to attend the fair and still have to apply may submit their application at www.newarkenrolls.org or complete an application in person at any district or participating charter school as well as at the NPS Central Office located at 2 Cedar Street prior to the February 29 deadline.

“The district is doing more than ever to ensure families have the option to exercise choice in their child’s education,” said executive director of enrollment, Gabrielle Ramos-Solomon. “We feel it is extremely important to make sure all parents are well informed and take the necessary steps to get their child in a school that is right for them.”

As a reminder, parents should complete a Newark Enrolls application if:

• Their child is in the last grade in their current school, including those:
  • In grade 8 of all K through 8 schools
  • In grade 6 of Harriet Tubman School
  • In grade 4 of Benjamin Franklin, Branch Book, Fourteenth Avenue, Newark Educators’ Community Charter, Roberto Clemente, Roseville Community
  • In Pre-K4 of the Early Childhood Schools (Berliner, Gladys Hillman Jones, South, West) and all community-based Pre-K4 providers
• Their child will be enrolling in public school for the first time in fall 2016, including:
  • New Pre-K students
  • New Kindergarten students
• Their child wants to attend a new school for fall 2016 that better fits his or her needs

If children would like to remain in their current school next fall, parents do not need to submit an application in the enrollment process.

Families who submit applications by February 29, 2016 for a new school will receive their match letters in mid-April 2016. The match letter will inform families of their school placement for the fall and provide families with next steps to register and confirm their placement.

For more information please visit www.newarkenrolls.org.

Newark Public Schools and Ironbound Community Corp kick off strategic planning meeting series in East Ward

[Newark, NJ – January 21, 2016] — More than 100 members of the community attended Newark Public Schools’ (NPS) East Ward strategic planning session on Thursday, hosted by Councilman Augusto Amador and the Ironbound Community Corp (ICC) at East Side High School. Thursday’s meeting was the first in a series of five strategic planning meetings that the district will be hosting in each ward.

ICC helped facilitate several small-group discussions in which parents, educators and community leaders were encouraged to share their feedback and insight on the following subjects:

• Curriculum and academic programs
• Student supports
• Education development, effectiveness and retention
• School planning and choice
• Data use, measurement and accountability
• Operations, finance and governance
• Community engagement

The purpose of these meetings is to discuss how the district can best plan for success in the years ahead. At the end of the meeting all attendees were asked to complete an engagement survey which included a comprehensive list of questions that gathered further information and input from the community. All feedback will be shared at a final meeting on Thursday, February 25 where the district will present a draft plan for consideration before presenting the final plan to the public.

The next strategic planning session will be on Thursday, January 28 at 6:00 p.m. at West Side Campus in the West Ward. For more information about upcoming community engagement meetings, or any other details related to the Strategic Planning Process please visit: https://newark.apppresser.com/strategic-plan/.

Meeting provides community members with overview of engagement process, and training for facilitators

[January 14, 2016 – Newark, New Jersey] – Newark Public Schools (NPS), along with members of the Newark School Board, the Newark Municipal Council, and community based organizations, held a meeting last night to kick off the strategic planning engagement process. These open community forums are part of the broader strategic planning process that was announced in November of 2015, and is expected to run through June of 2016. The primary goals of the process are to engage the community in a dialogue about the future of the district, use that feedback to identify a path forward that will lead to improved educational outcomes for Newark students, and to outline how to make progress towards this goal while continuing to move towards local control.

“We are excited to work with our community partners to engage parents, students and educators about the best path forward for the district,” said Christopher D. Cerf, Superintendent of Newark Public Schools. “We want to hear directly from members of our community in these forums on what they believe are the best strategies to ensure a successful future for our school children.”

The district announced the dates they will be hosting community forums and provided training for members of those organizations who will act as facilitators throughout the process. The purpose of the community meetings is to discuss how the district can best plan for success in the years ahead. These engagement meetings are open to the public and will take place over the next several weeks in each ward across the city, culminating in a final meeting to share the feedback that was collected at these individual gatherings.

The district shared the following forum dates and community partners:

“These forums will be a great opportunity for the larger Newark community to have a meaningful conversation about how to create a framework for long-term success for our school system,” said Margarita Muniz, Executive Director of the Office of Family and Community Engagement. “Our team is looking forward to an open exchange of ideas from all members of our community.”

Throughout the coming year, the district will continue to move forward with wide-ranging engagement efforts across Newark. In addition to the collaboration taking place through the engagement meeting facilitation, the district will work directly with the Newark School Board, and will be reaching out to various district and community stakeholders to solicit input through one-on-one and small group conversations.

“We are excited work with the district to engage the community and hear their feedback.” said Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins. “It is extremely important for the community to be involved, and we support the district’s efforts and actions, and are ready to collaborate with them to identify the direction the district should be headed, and what priorities will get us there.”

“The Newark community has a great desire engage in a conversation about what is best for their schools,” added Superintendent Cerf. “Our educators and community members are critical to the success of this process and we are optimistic these meetings will create an open and honest dialogue about how we can work together to improve our school system and lay the groundwork for our long-term success.”

Since joining the district in July 2015, Superintendent Cerf and the NPS staff have been actively engaged in conversations with the community about the district’s strengths and weaknesses. These forums will build on those conversations and formalize the feedback the district is receiving from the community. In addition to the in-person community meetings, a survey will be sent out to parents and community members in the coming weeks that will provide another medium for families, school staff and community members to give input.

For more information about the locations of the community engagement meetings, or any other details related to the Strategic Planning Process please visit: https://newark.apppresser.com/strategic-plan/.