Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Governor Christie Commits Additional $14.2 Million to Expand School Choice for NJ Families

Number of Students and Districts Participating in the Christie Administration's Interdistrict Choice Program Increases for 2012-13 School Year Governor Commits an Additional $14.2 Million to Expand School Choice for New Jersey Families

Trenton, NJ - Demonstrating a continued commitment to the expansion of the Interdistrict Choice Program, student enrollment in the program has tripled over the past three years to a projected 3,356 students in 73 districts in 2012-13. To support the continued growth of the program, Governor Christie has dedicated an additional $14.2 million for the Interdistrict School Choice program in the FY 2013 state budget, as part of a $212.5 million increase in K-12 state aid and a total of $7.8 billion in K-12 formula aid - the most in New Jersey history. In the current 2011-12 school year, there are 2,131 participating students in 71 districts. For more information: http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2012/0314choice.htm

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

$14.5 Million Federal Grant to Support Expanding NJ High Quality Charter Schools

Christie Administration Announces $14.5 Million Federal Grant to Support Ongoing Efforts to Expand High-Quality Charter Schools Funding Award furthers Administration's Commitment to Increasing Choice for Students Who Need It Most 

Trenton, NJ - New Jersey is one of three states to be awarded a grant today by the US Department of Education to support the expansion and replication of high-quality charter schools in New Jersey, the Christie Administration announced today. The State will receive nearly $14.5 million through the federal Charter Schools Program to strengthen the quality of charter school options in New Jersey. 

The award recognizes the aggressive work done by the Christie Administration to strengthen accountability for charter schools in the state and therefore improve the quality of options for students. Under the leadership of Governor Christie and Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf, the Department of Education has greatly expanded and improved its Office of Charter Schools - strengthening the charter application process, the rigor and transparency of performance contracts with charter schools, and putting a focus on oversight and accountability for authorized charters. 

For more information: http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2012/0313grant.htm

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Are Our Schools In Crisis?: Principal Baruti kafele, "Educating Children of Color"

Community organization Day
Networking 'Chat & Chew' Event

Sunday, April 15th, 2012 @The Elks Lodge
17 Bennett Road, Englewood, New Jersey
Doors open 4pm  Admission $10
Project Coordinator: Mr. John Sisco 201-673-7340  
JSiscophoto54@Hotmail.com

Join us for our monthly Community Organization 
Day and help us welcome one of our own excellent educators!

Special keynote Speaker: "Educating Children of Color" featuring Principal Baruti K. Kafele
"Mr. Kafele is on a personal, inspiring, invigorating, thought provoking and candid mission to motivate, educate and empower educators, parents, and children toward the elimination of the "attitude gap." he inspires his audience to expect nothing short of excellence." Mary Goshay
Image source


This is the 2nd meet and greet your organization event sponsored by the Elks Lodge. I like Mr. Samuel Lee, Jr.'s description of the effort. He intimated that we all have so much in common that it is a good idea to learn to play nice in the sandbox. It is a great analogy, because we are divided by so many organizations and agendas that we neglect the work we need to do together.  This is an attempt to pool our efforts so we may all make changes towards success. Everyone is invited to bring business cards. The sandbox is large enough for everyone. We must all pull together to give time and attention to what is really important. Higher Expectations from everyone. The children. Education. The Message. The real estate. Our homes and lives. Where do we go from here?

The links below have been provided for those of you who do not know of Principal kafele's work. I invite you to take a thoroughly informative tour through this educator's life, career and creations all directed towards improving the lives of our children.  You may catch up on his many lectures and publications.
Principal Kafele's Biography
17 Bennett Road
Englewood, New Jersey
http://www.principalkafele.com/biography/
kafele is on Fire!
http://www.principalkafele.com/
Baruti K. Kafele 
Educational Consultant Year Honored: 2009
http://www.mff.org/mea/mea.taf?page=recipient&meaID=23239
@PrincipalKafele
https://twitter.com/#!/principalkafele
Baruti Kafele
http://www.edustat.com/speakers/bkafele.html
Ideal Lodge 470
Temple 290
has a splendid mission!
Motivating Black Males to Succeed
http://www.ascd.org/Publications/Authors/Baruti-Kafele.aspx?id=69934735001&nvid=a9b1
Milken National Educator Award
http://www.state.nj.us/education/clear/teach/milken/09/kafele.htm
Principal Baruti Kafele visits Blount
http://www.state.nj.us/education/clear/teach/milken/09/kafele.htm
Speaker Spotlight: Baruti KafeleThere are three questions that must 
underscore everything we do as educators: Who am I? Why am I? What is my role?
http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/2006/09/baruti_kafele.html
Meet the Awards for Excellence Honorees
http://2011njeaconvention.wordpress.com/tag/baruti-kafele/
How to live with change
http://www.blackfamilyunited.org/how-to-live-the-change/viewvideo/67/parenting/milken-educator-profile-baruti-kafele.html
                                        How are the children?

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The New QSAC Monitoring System Focuses on Individual Schools & Student Achievement

State Board of Education Adopts Changes to Streamline QSAC Monitoring and to Put Increased Focus on Student Achievement, Health and Safety, and Fiscal Accountability 

 Trenton, NJ - The State Board of Education voted today to streamline the state process for monitoring school districts through amendments to the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (QSAC). The changes begin to reduce burdensome compliance and paperwork requirements for districts while focusing on factors that are central to student achievement, health and safety, and fiscal accountability. The changes are part of a larger initiative to remove bureaucratic red tape and focus both state and district resources on what matters most - improving student achievement. 

The Department has committed to continuing to review QSAC to make it a more meaningful improvement tool and to align it with the state's new school-level accountability system outlined in its No Child Left Behind flexibility application, which was approved by the US Department of Education last month. "By adopting these recommendations, we can begin to replace a burdensome system with one that measures what's important. We can eliminate redundancies and free up resources to focus on the needs of all students to provide the highest quality educational experience," State Board President Arcelio Aponte said.


Among others, the changes today include:
  • A reduction in the number of indicators that are self-evaluated by the district and monitored by the New Jersey Department of Education from 334 to 48, which decreases both the time districts spend on compliance and focuses attention on what matter most.
  • The creation of a Statement of Assurance (SOA) that consists of 50 performance quality indicators in the five key component areas of school district effectiveness. The SOA is a self-evaluation tool that districts must complete annually and it will be incorporated as an indicator in each of the five key component areas of the QSAC review that occurs every 3 years. The NJDOE will use the SOA in the intervening years of the QSAC cycle to provide technical assistance to the district on areas where they have identified a deficiency in the SOA.
  • The elimination of duplicative monitoring performed by the department and within the DPRs. For example, the DPRs no longer include monitoring of financial reports that are submitted to the NJDOE annually and no longer include financial management information already monitored through the budget review process.
  • A focus on student growth in the evaluation of student achievement measures, rather than simply a review of whether a district met a certain proficiency level.


In its interim report in September, the Education Transformation Task Force identified a number of deficiencies in the current QSAC process. Among others, the report outlined how QSAC focuses on district “capacity” rather than student performance; that the information provided under current QSAC regulations is inconsistent, unreliable, and fails to distinguish between very different districts; that it has failed to drive district improvement; and that it overlaps and at times contradicts the state’s school-level accountability system.
The changes approved today will take effect immediately for districts undergoing a QSAC review this year.


For more information:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2012/0307qsac.htm

Saturday, March 3, 2012

EPSD votes Yes on 1% Tax Levy

March 1, 2012: Englewood Board of Education votes on Preliminary Budget


Dr. Carlisle and the Business Administrator were to present a more fleshed out version of the budget tonight. This was the second Public Budget Meeting.  They were like 2 students who had not completed their homework. Dr. Carlisle made a presentation of what to expect from the completed budget. This article was basically constructed of the notes I took. My thoughts are in red.

8 Turnaround Principles
1. climate and culture - He said that when he came here there was a lot of negativity. The middle school was in chaos, the high school was dysfunctional and order was needed. He thinks the bridge program did a lot to alleviate that. He said that there are now receptionists in every building for welcoming parents. He admits that the website has to be improved and that he is currently encouraging Caryn Furst to get more stuff in there. He wants her to sell the product. (When I signed up for the new digital newsletter some of the schools were left off the list when the prompt asked for the relationship to the schools. DMHS was not there as a choice, neither was the Eagle or Bridge programs.)
2. Principal Leadership - Dr. Carlisle defended the decision to move Principals
  • Dwight Morrow High School - P. Elbert to the high school. He said that he was a good fit because he already knew the children. He credits his move to the high school as changing the climate there. He said that they are blending the two sides of the campus together, it is not perfect, but they are working on it. Students report that the bells are ringing now. That is a positive. It is difficult to ascertain just how effective Mr. Elbert is since Dr. Carlisle is on premises. It is a strange arrangement. Regardless of what Dr. Carlisle says, it seems a strained arrangement. The community does not see the fact that Mr. Elbert knows the children as a positive. These are the same students that were in his care when he was removed from principal of the middle school because it was a failing school.
  • Janis E. Dismus Middle School - He praised Lamar Thomas and his leadership at Janis E. Dismus Middle School. He said that he has not gotten a single complaint out of the middle school since Lamar took over. It should be noted here that Mr. Thomas was not first choice. A woman from NYC declined the job after attending a meeting with parents this summer. Mr. Thomas was slated to be Assistant Principal. He stepped up to the plate and is doing the job. We are still waiting for the resolution that will make Mr. Thomas Principal. It is obvious that the  climate of the school has improved. The attitude, school spirit and self esteem seems much healthier.
  • Superintendent's Office At High School - He reminded us that his office has also moved to the 2nd floor at the high school. He reports that everything has changed on that floor under his watchful eye.
  • Quarles Early Childhood Learning Center - He asserted that this was the best fit for Marsha Howard. He suggested that she does well with this age group.
3. Quality of Instruction - 
4. Standards based curriculum He spoke vaguely about the Common Core State Standards and suggested to Glenn Garrison that either his state or his did not adopt it. By the way, it was Dr. Carlisle's home state of Texas and not Glenn Garrison's home state of North Carolina, that did not adopt the Common Core State Standards. He mentioned that "Core Certification" would be tied to assessments.
5. Effective use of data
  • He talked about the book Driven by Data: A Practical Guide to Improve Instruction that he
    distributed to all principals and the Board of Education earlier in the school year. 
  • He did not mention how he had used any Data Driven information to determine how to structure the budget so as to maximize student achievement.
6. Effective staffing practices
  • . He mentioned that they had to use better Job Descriptions
  •   Supervision had to be provided
  •   The Boost - He said that he had given the district a boost when he came but now it is time to pull   back.
7.  Academically focused family and community engagement - He mentioned that he had challenged students to perform better on the standardized tests than Teaneck students. Teaneck was chosen because of the close proximity.  He said that they have to start treating the youngsters like our own children.
8.  Redesigning of School time - We have to use time more wisely. He said that some of the new faces we were introduced to last year would not be around next year. Class size in Quarles was compared to that of private schools and that the classes would be larger next year.  He suggested that there would be changes in the classes at DMHS and the Alternative School. Program. There was no explanation as to what this meant.

This year's New Buzz Words and Phrases
Not Just What you spend...but it is how well it is spent...Changing the way the money is spent is by far the most important means of actually changing the behavior of schools and the school systems. He talked of a meeting with Acting Commissioner Cerf and how he was impressed by his cabinet.

The Business Administrator took over and repeated a story that loosely detailed our Funding History. It seems that Englewood was spoiled because they got used to the Equity and Excellence money from the state that was used to fund the Academy. Spending was not 
adjusted to compensate for the end of this money. 
She presented some base assumptions - 
  • Student enrollment is flat and would remain so
  • Continue Majority of the programs
  • Operations Cost were increasing
  • The move from Liberty - They did not talk about that crazy lease signed with St. Cecilia
  • Charter School Represents a cost increase of 785,000
  • Contracts with 3 bargaining units coming up
  • $270,000 grant program is ending and they wish to keep the program (they did not identify program)
  • Health Benefits increasing
  • Fuel and Energy Cost increasing
  • Facilities and infrastructures (She noted that she was impressed with the way the facilities looked. I don't know what she expected.)
  • Staff resource levels -  (We assume this means the extra teachers that we picked up last year who had not been provided for in the 2011 - 2012 budget. They did not specifically mention the outsourcing of anyone. The rumor was that secretaries, aides, substitutes, and even the child study team would be outsourced. This seems like something that should have been included if it will truly happen.)
  • Alter work schedules (This was not explained)
  • A better management of "extra duty" stipends  (no elaborations here)
She said that the focus in 2012 - 2013 would be on Creating the New Normal  This New Normal would involve a reduction in expenditures in order to regain surplus. She said that down the road we would recoup our money from the tax increase. She repeated that the key is how well you spend the money.
She gave us another calendar schedule detailing the timeline for submission of the budget to the state and preparing it for the vote in April. 
  • 3/1 Adopt Budget
  • 3/2 Submit formal state document
  • 3/22 Get approval from the County office
  • 2/29 public hearing 2012 -2013 Budget
  • 3/30 Last day to present Budget to the County
  • 4/17 Vote on the Budget by the public
At this point Dr. Carlisle diverted attention to the public (less than 10 people) to an explanation of how Rosemary Seitel presented the Technology Committee at February 23 meeting in his absence. He repeated the correction of the Library specialist's data pertaining to the number of books to students throughout the district. He apologized for the low number of books to students at DMHS. He said that the library is humming with activity from both sides of the campus. A visiting speaker supposedly commented that, "the students were the most focused and well behaved students of any school she has been in." He attributed this to our "circle of colors" as they relate to student behavior. (I don't know what that means)

Privilege of the floor was opened and Mr. Popkin wanted to know what the board was signing tonight.
He held last year's budget in his hand and asked how costs had been reduced through retirement. Mr. Popkin was very specific in his questions and Dr.  Carlisle, the BA and the Board were extremely vague. They grew annoyed with him and there was a little shouting. Mr. Popkin accused them of bullying and Dr. Carlisle accused that old man of bullying. Dr. Carlisle basically suggested that school boards should not have to put up with people from the public who insist on having their questions answered. Mr. Popkin was at the heart of the matter They should have just admitted that they were voting tonight because of the timeline for submission above. The presentation had an awful lot to be desired in terms of detail. We had no better idea of how the money would be spent than before we came. There were also inconsistencies. They told Mr. Popkins that there were no line items. Later on, after privilege of the floor, they said the board had seen the line items.

This is how the Board of Education Voted on the 1% tax Levy.
Lubarr..........No
In time we will catch up?
Smith............No
Brown..........No
Pruitt............Yes
Mark...........Yes
Diaz.............Yes
Garrison III.....Yes
Garrison...........Yes
Ungar...............Yes

Leaving the board this year are 
Miriam Lubarr and  Shirley Smith.
Henry Pruitt is running for office again in April. Why did he vote for a 1% tax levy?
Meanwhile, we were befuddled. The New Normal cannot possibly be put to paper before the final document is submitted to the County for approval. They don't even have any figures yet. Dr. Carlisle's contract is also part of the budget. We hope it does not complicate things like it did last year. I have never voted against a school budget. I guess I always just trusted that the board knew what they were doing. I no longer feel the same about that. The is always a first time for everything.


                                                How are the children?