Do You Remember Mary Binder?

Looking Back on Tragedy: Please Learn From it before someone else gets hurt!

A Letter That Everyone Should Read!

October 15, 2012

Arne Duncan
U.S. Secretary of Education
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SWE
Washington, D.C. 20202

Dear Secretary Duncan,

We are writing to express our grave concerns about the negative impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver on New Jersey’s most vulnerable children.

We understand that the waivers were an effort to return more control to the states to improve educational opportunities and outcomes.  Unfortunately, here in New Jersey, it is quite clear that the NCLB waiver is being used to apply measures that are more damaging than NCLB would have been, particularly to low-income Black and Latino children. 

 Below, we detail our most pressing concerns with the program the State is implementing under the waiver:  1) introduction of a punitive accountability system that disproportionately impacts school districts populated by low-income children of color while rewarding selective schools and those populated by wealthier, majority white students; and 2) a process of State intervention that excludes low-income communities of color from substantive input in the planning or implementation of the proposed interventions.

 To replace the NCLB framework, the State has adopted a new classification system that will reinforce racial and economic segregation and inequity in New Jersey’s public schools.  The classification system uses state standardized tests, graduation rates, and gaps in achievement, to target a group of 75 “Priority” schools and 183 “Focus” schools for dramatic State-mandated intervention, including possible closings and conversions to charter schools.  These Priority and Focus Schools serve overwhelmingly Black and Latino, very poor communities, and educate many students who do not speak English as a first language.  The Priority schools are concentrated in some of the most distressed communities in the state and have a staggering 24% student mobility rate (please see Attachment A).

In contrast, the State has classified a group of 122 schools as “Reward” schools, based on high achievement or high levels of growth on state tests.  These schools, which are targeted to receive financial bonuses, are located in the highest wealth districts in the state, serve a small percentage of Black and Latino students, have low poverty rates, few English language learners, and little student mobility.  Many of these schools are magnet high schools and vocational schools, with highly selective admissions. 

 The blatant economic and racial inequity built into this classification system harks back to the days when such segregation and inequity were policy objectives for our State.

 To accompany the new school classification system, the NJDOE is creating an infrastructure of 5 to 7 Regional Achievement Centers (RACs).  The RACs, which are being partially funded by grants from private foundations, will have authority to take over the management of Priority and Focus schools, completely bypassing duly elected or appointed local school boards and district administrations. 

The NJDOE is giving the targeted schools two years to reach arbitrary new achievement levels or face sanctions.  It is highly improbable that the targeted schools will achieve the increased standards that the State is requiring, particularly as the State is simultaneously imposing severe funding cuts on these same school districts.  Should they fail to achieve the increased standards, these schools will be subject to closure or the imposition of private management, not only without substantial community input, but in direct opposition to the wishes of the primarily low-income Black and Latino host communities.

In fact, this lack of participation or engagement of the host communities is evident in all aspects of the NJDOE’s implementation of the waiver proposal, underscoring NJDOE Commissioner Cerf’s expressed belief that fixing schools “isn’t about consensus and collaboration.”  Not only have those residents whose children attend the targeted schools been left out of the planning and decision-making process, but so have the local boards of education, and the district administrations.  Moreover NJ’s entire waiver plan was adopted with minimal opportunity for public input, no legislative review and without the required regulatory rule-making process mandated by NJ’s Administrative Procedure Act.

 The potential end result of NJDOE’s implementation of the waiver, with its lack of transparency, its punitive attack on high-poverty school districts, and its insidious disenfranchisement of communities of color, is the undermining and possible destruction of urban public education, including the systematic dismantling of any semblance of democratic governance.    

 We also want to highlight the threat posed by the recent granting of an additional Title I waiver to the NJDOE, which relaxes requirements that federal Title I funding be used for its prescribed purpose of addressing the negative effects of poverty on academic performance.   Governor Christie has proposed redirecting some Title I funds among schools without regard to the degree of poverty, an explicit departure from federal Title I requirements.  This diversion of funding flies in the face of the Title I program’s objectives and would further hinder our ability to meet the needs of our most vulnerable students.   

We ask that the US Department of Education immediately suspend its  No Child Left Behind and Title I waiver provisions in New Jersey until there is a thorough review of the State’s implementation scheme, especially as it pertains to disparate racial and economic impact and lack of community input. 

 Time is of the essence. The RACs are due to come on-line this fall and the clock has begun ticking for targeted schools in low-income communities of color. 

 Respectfully yours,

1.  Reverend Toby Sanders, President, Trenton Board of Education
2. Dr. Jonathan Hodges, Member and former President, Paterson Board of Education
3. Rosie Grant, Program Director, Paterson Education Fund                                             
4. Julia Sass Rubin, Spokesperson, Save Our Schools NJ and Associate Professor of Policy, Rutgers
5. Frank Argote-Freyre, President, Latino Action Network
6. William Colon, President, The Latino Institute
7. Laverne Harvey, President, Camden Education Association
8. David Sciarra, Executive Director, Education Law Center
9. Deborah Sagner, Sagner Family Foundation
10. Junius Williams, Director, Abbott Leadership Institute
11. Kathleen Witcher, President, Irvington NAACP
12. Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, Executive Director, New Jersey Citizen Action
13. Katie Strom, a Founding Member of NJ Teacher Activists Group (NJ TAG)
14. Terry Moore, Save Our Schools March, NJ Information Coordinator
15. Donna M. Chiera, President, American Federation of Teachers NJ
16. Sharon Smith, Parents Unified for Local School Education (PULSE)
17. Michelle Fine, Professor of Psychology, City University of New York
18. Ras Baraka, Newark Southward Councilman
19. Rev. Dr. Ken J. Gordon Jr., President, Southern Burlington County NAACP and Willingboro Councilman
20. Leah Owens, Chairperson, Newark Education Workers (NEW) Caucus
21. Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, Chairperson, Newark Public Schools Advisory Board
22. Arnold Williams, Founder and Chairperson, League of Black and Latino Voters
23. Jose Delgado, Community Activist and former Camden BOE member
24. Teresa Vivar, Executive Director, LAZOS America Unida
25. Trina Scordo, Executive Director, New Jersey Communities United
26. Gordon MacInnes, Former Assistant Commissioner for Abbott Implementation and NJ State Senator
27. Donna Jackson, President and Founder, United Parent Network
28. Naomi Johnson-Lafleur, President, Trenton Education Association
29. Marcia Marley, President, BlueWave, NJ
30. Irene Sterling, President, Paterson Education Fund
31. Elease Evans, Chairwoman, New Jersey Black Issues Convention
32. Geraldine Carroll, President, Great Schools of New Jersey
33. Charles Wowkanech, President, New Jersey State AFL-CIO
34. Mary G. Bennett, Retired High School Principal, Coalition for Effective Newark Public Schools
35. Reverend Darrell L. Armstrong, Founder, Shiloh CDC, Trenton
36. Paul Tractenberg, Professor of Law, Rutgers & Co-Director, Institute on Education Law and Policy
37. Wilhelmina Holder, President, and Laura Baker, Board Member, Newark Secondary Parents Council
38. Willie Rowe, Vice Chair, Coalition for Effective Newark Public Schools
39. Edward Barocas, Acting Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey
40. Kevin Walsh, Associate Director, Fair Share Housing Center
41. Dierdre Glenn Paul, President, African American Caucus of Montclair State University
42. Dr. Tamara Spencer, Literacy Graduate Program Coordinator, ECELE, Montclair State University
43. Sterling Waterman, Vice President, Jersey City Board of Education
44. Debra Jennings, Executive Co-Director, Statewide Parent Advocacy Network
45. James E. Harris, President, New Jersey State Conference of the NAACP

 cc:           President Barack Obama             

Governor Chris Christie

The New Jersey Congressional Delegation

The New Jersey State Legislative Delegation

Commissioner Chris Cerf, New Jersey Department of Education

Arcelio Aponte, President, New Jersey State Board of Education

 Attachment A 

Demographic Composition of New Jersey’s Priority, Focus and Reward Schools

Classification	Number of Schools	Black & Latino Students	Free & Reduced Lunch Students	English Language Learners	Student Mobility Rate
Priority	75	97%	81%	7%	24%
Focus	183	72%	63%	10%	15%
Reward	112	20%	15%	2%	5%

Source:  Education Law Center

12TH GRADERS: APPLY FOR FINANCIAL AID NOW!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!!
DID YOU KNOW THAT TODAY IS THE 1ST DAY YOU OR YOUR CHILD, ATTENDING OR PLANNING TO ATTEND COLLEGE, MAY FILL OUT THE FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID FORM? WHY NOT GET A HEAD START AND BEGIN THE PROCESS BEFORE THE FUNDS RUN OUT? TOO OFTEN STUDENTS TRY TO FILL IT OUT IN THE SPRING OR SUMMER WHEN THE FUNDS ARE ALMOST GONE FOR THE YEAR. LET'S STAY AHEAD OF THE GAME AND NOT BE LAST MINUTE. MAKE EDUCATION A #1 PRIORITY.
http://www.fafsa.gov/

Updated 11/17/2013: Concussion Law, Anti-Bullying & Harassment Law, Heat Acclimation and Wellness, CPR Certifications, Sports First Aid: Is Your Child Athlete Safe?

NJSIAA - 2013 - 2014 Handbook for Officials
Did the recent NJ  NCLB waivers give school districts the go ahead to break with laws that protect the children (18A and 6A)? Why are some school districts proceeding as if there is no law? Do the power brokers and politicians understand the Pandora's Box that has been thrown open? Who may safely ignore the laws? May we have a list of those allowed? Are the poor protected? Do special needs parents realize the danger? Do mothers all over the country understand the dangers that loom in the future if there are no checks and balances? More, proper and precise oversight is needed, not less. Our sons and our daughters are in danger when the law is sucked down wormholes into the sand of indifference. Parents must stand up for the law as if the very lives of their children depend on it, because they do.

It is our hope that the following information may help parents learn to protect their children as they push them to participate in Athletics. Do not continue to allow others to gain notoriety and profit on the energy, well being and life of your children. It is time to take responsibility for what happens once your children have been entrusted to the coaches in this country. Know what you are sending your children into before signing them over to persons who may not care to train themselves to protect the children of others.

Englewood's
Head Volunteer Paraprofessional Football Coach (page 14 of 17) We are watching this situation and are wondering why northjersey.com does not seem to be aware of whom the Head Football Coach is in Englewood, NJ.

NATIONAL FEDERATION BY LAWS: NJSIAA - 2013 - 2014

http://www.njsiaa.org/sites/default/files/document/13-14%20NJSIAA%20Constitution,%20Bylaws,%20Rules%20and%20Regulations%20minus%20index%20pages_0.pdf

Page 80 PROCEDURE – “COACHES” APPOINTED TO ACCOMPANY TEAMS OR INDIVIDUALS TO NJSIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS 
Member schools are reminded that a team or an individual is not permitted to compete in NJSIAA Championship events unless a properly appointed “coach” is present, and was present at six (6) practices prior to the event. When making these assignments, a public school must be aware of the provisions of the New Jersey Administrative Code, Section 6A:9-5.19, entitled “Athletics Personnel,” which mandates the requirements which a board of education must follow when appointing individuals in a coaching capacity. The practice of having a parent, a private instructor, or other adults accompany a student-athlete as the coach is a violation of this provision. Your county superintendent will be able to confirm the certification or lack thereof of the individual you are assigning. A properly appointed coach will thereafter be subject to the Rules and Regulations, Rule 2, Section 11 - Out-of-Season Practice. 

IF A PROPERLY QUALIFIED AND CERTIFIED APPOINTMENT CANNOT BE MADE, THE SCHOOL SHOULD NOT ENTER THE TEAM OR INDIVIDUAL IN AN NJSIAA EVENT. 
Such appointments must be approved by the Board of Education; neither the NJSIAA nor the meet director has the authority or the responsibility for enforcement of this statute, sole jurisdiction rests with the Department of Education, and, therefore, a Principal’s signature on the entry form certifies that the coach/certified faculty member has been appointed by the Board of Education within the provisions of Title 6 Education.

STATE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALIFICATION OF COACHES 
The New Jersey Administrative Code sets forth qualifications for the coaching of public school pupils. These qualifications are found at NJ.A.C. 6A:9-5.19, (pages 72-73) as follows:

 (a) Any teaching staff member in the employ of a district board of education shall be permitted to organize public school pupils for purposes of coaching or for conducting games, events or contests in physical education or athletics. 
(b) School districts shall be permitted to employ any holder of a New Jersey teaching certificate to work in the interscholastic athletic program provided that the position has been advertised. 
(c) In the event there is no qualified and certified applicant, the holder of a county substitute credential pursuant to NJ.A.C. 6A:9-6.5 (page 79) is authorized to serve as an athletic coach in the district in which he or she is employed for a designated sports season, provided that 
1. The district chief school administrator demonstrates to the county superintendent that 
i. The vacant coaching position had been advertised; and 
ii. There was no qualified applicant based on the written standards of the district board of education 
2. The district chief school administrator provides a letter to the county superintendent attesting to the prospective employee’s knowledge and experience in the sport in which he or she will coach; and

3. The district board of education obtains the county superintendent’s approval prior to employment. The 20-day limitation noted in NJ.A.C. 6A:9-6.5(b) (page 79) shall not apply to such coaching situations.

NJSIAA COACHING CERTIFICATION AND REGULATIONS

A person shall be eligible to coach in any interscholastic contest, provided the person satisfies all of the conditions listed below (For the purposes of this section, “coach” shall mean all persons who coach an interscholastic high school athletic team in any way, whether for pay or as a volunteer at the varsity, junior varsity and/or freshman level – ninth grade through twelve grade).  
In addition to State Department of Education Regulations, the following regulations must be adhered to:

1. The person’s appointment as coach must be approved by the local educational agency responsible for the member school at which the person coaches. 2. All new coaches will have 120 days after being hired to register for the NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching  (Blended Version) course. Upon completion of the classroom components, coaches will have sixty (60)  days to complete the remaining four (4) components. A certificate of course completion must be submitted to respective athletic supervisors by June 30th to be eligible to coach at an NJSIAA member school for the subsequent school year.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MAY A COACH TAKE THE NFHS FUNDMENTALS of COACHING COURSE COMPLETELY ON-LINE (the on-line version does NOT contain the specific NJSIAA component).

3. Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, all new coaches will have one year after being hired to successfully complete a course in “Sports First Aid.”

4. All coaches must be CPR certified and [AED] certified

5. All coaches must obtain a “Concussion  Awareness” certificate.

6. All coaches must obtain a “Heat Acclimatiation Awareness and Wellness” certificate.

7. Coaches currently in place, and/or who have experience coaching in an NJSIAA high school prior to the

    2006-2007 school year, will be exempt from provisions 2 and 3 above. (While experienced coaches will not be required to adhere to all of the provisions listed above, it is recommended that all coaches complete the NFHS Fundamentals of Coaching and Sports First Aid Courses in addition to having CPR certification.)

Note:  The above regulations do not apply to the coaches appointed by the school to accompany student athletes to individual events.

Paraprofessional Aide Positions   (page 14 of 17)

Nothing in the rules governing coaching positions would preclude a board of education from creating, pursuant to  N.J.A.C. 6A:32-4.7, Paraprofessional Aide Positions to assist in the supervision of athletic activities under the direction of a certified coach. However, all such positions must be created and maintained in full compliance with the provisions of  N.J.A.C. 6A:32-4.7, including requirements for written job descriptions and qualification standards, and approvals by, and annual reporting to, the county superintendent. As with classroom aides employed to assist certified teachers, athletic paraprofessionals may only function under the direct supervision of a certified coach, or if not assisting with coaching duties, under the direct supervision of designated certified staff; they may not independently undertake coaching duties or any other duties requiring educational certification. Additionally, all persons employed by a district in a paraprofessional capacity (i.e., not serving on a volunteer basis) are subject to the criminal history record check law.

PROCEDURE – DISQUALIFICATION OF COACHES/PLAYERS

If a board contemplates the use of an aide (paid or unpaid), the policies of the local board must be adopted and in place regarding this type of position, and the rules of the league or conference to which the district belongs must be followed. Please contact your county superintendent of schools should you have any questions.

National Federation of State High School Associations: 

National Coach Certification Program Courses
How to get Certified as a Coach

Core & Free Courses for H.S. Coaches

New Jersey State Requirements and Pricing: Click the drop down menu, find your state

NHS Fundamentals of Coaching

Learning Pro: Homework Helper

Learning Pro: Research Skills

Engaging Effectively with Parents

The Role of the Parent in Sports

Teaching and Modeling Behavior

Supplement for Fundamentals of Coaching

A Guide to Heat Acclimatization & Heat Illness Prevention

The Case for High School Activities

Sexual Harassment and Hazing Brochure
Hazing Prevention

N.J.A.C. 6A:32, School District Operations (Proposed revisions- 2nd Discussion)

http://www.nj.gov/education/code/proposed/title6a/chap32.pdf

                                   How are the children?

Test Scores Increased in Turnaround Schools....

New today out of Trenton...

New Jersey High School Graduation Rate Increases to 86% in 2011-12 School Year, While
Turnaround Schools Make Significant Gains Across the State
Department of Education Releases Graduation Rates, NJ ASK, and HSPA Results Months Earlier Than Ever Before to Support District Improvement Efforts http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2012/1205grad.htm

Trenton, NJ - The Department of Education today released results on the

• New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK), 
• the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) 
• and state-wide graduation rates for the 2011-2012 school year, drastically improving reporting timelines from previous years. 

The state's graduation rate increased from 83% in 2011 to 86% in 2012, the second year the state is using the new federal methodology for calculating the graduation rate. On the NJ ASK, the average proficiency rates across all grades and subjects remained steady, while proficiency rates on the HSPA increased in both LAL and math.

Meanwhile, School Improvement Grant (SIG) schools undergoing intensive turnarounds with the support of the NJDOE on the whole made significant gains over the past two years.

"Once again, our data shows us that New Jersey students perform quite well overall while continuing to make steady improvement, and we applaud our educators for their work every day with our students," said Commissioner Chris Cerf. The results for schools undergoing intensive turnarounds this year are particularly very encouraging, showing that while our achievement gaps across the state are persistent and unacceptably high, we can close them with dedicated support interventions."  

A summary of the test results and graduation rates, as well as individual school and district results, are available at the following links:

NJ ASK and HSPA: http://www.nj.gov/education/schools/achievement/2013/
Graduation Rates: http://www.nj.gov/education/data/grate/2012/