This is an article from the Asbury Park Press, here is a link to the article:

TRENTON — A bill that paves a legal path toward new public-private schools in three cities – including the Lanning Square Elementary School in Camden – passed two legislative committees Thursday.

The Democratic-sponsored bill was amended to overcome Republicans objections, though a legal advocate for low-income students threatened to bring a lawsuit to stop the program if the bill becomes law.

The Urban Hope Act would allow for up to four privately operated public schools to be authorized and built each in Newark, Trenton and Camden.

The bill (A4426/S3173) passed both the state Assembly and Senate budget committees and is expected to be voted on in both chambers Monday, the last day of the two-year state legislative session.

South Jersey Democratic leader George E. Norcross III has been pushing for the bill, particularly because he wants to see a new private-public school in the Lanning Square section in the center of Camden.

Gov. Chris Christie had indicated earlier he would support it, but the administration has been reviewing the bill, which changed in recent days and on Thursday.

The bill is sponsored by Norcross’ brother, state Sen. Donald Norcross, D-Camden. It is controversial because it circumvents the state’s School Development Authority, which had been charged with constructing schools in 31 of the state’s low-income school districts that are protected under two decades worth of state Supreme Court rulings.

This is an opinion piece from the Asbury Park Press, here is a link to the article:

Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf recently reiterated his desire to be able to act more quickly to close or restructure failing schools.

We could be on board with that — if we had any confidence that our state government can, with any credibility, identify truly failing schools. But we don’t. Instead of trying hard to make those determinations in a fair, meaningful fashion, the Gov. Chris Christie administration appears focused on validating its own claims about teachers union excesses and their impact on education.

Most of all, the would-be “reformers” continue to downplay the root problem in schools with substantial numbers of failing students: poverty. Most schools “fail” not because of what does or doesn’t happen within the classroom but because a community fails its children. Urban youths from troubled, broken families with poor nutrition and little if any parental support walk through school doors every day at a distinct disadvantage compared to most suburban students. Even the very best teachers can only do so much to compensate for those shortcomings.

Fighting poverty is extraordinarily hard work, however. So instead, our leaders keep pretending that the disparities in student performance can be corrected by “fixing” the schools.

What New Jersey — and the entire nation — truly needs is a far more comprehensive understanding of the vast differences among students outside the school setting, and how those differences carry over into the classroom.

This is an article from the Asbury Park Press, here is a link to the article:

New Jersey’s chief of schools says the state should be quicker to reconfigure or close failing institutions.

Acting Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf tells The Associated Press that would be one of his top priorities if he had free rein to modify the state’s education system.

Cerf says data show that New Jersey has one of the nation’s top public school systems — but that low-income students do relatively poorly. And he says the gap is bigger than in most states.

He says the New Jersey Education Association does not seem serious enough about addressing that gap. That’s the state’s main teachers union.

Cerf says the goal of the education system should be to give every student an equal opportunity “regardless of birth circumstances.”

One in a periodic series on efforts to remake New Jersey’s education system.

This is an article from the Asbury Park Press, here is a link to the article:

EWING — Corey Goodson had been getting by in his classes at Asbury Park High School, but barely.

Now he’s trying much harder, which started happening when Goodson, getting ready for the football season a year ago, was told he couldn’t play.

“I didn’t have the credits,’’ he said.

Goodson fixed his GPA, something he talked about with pride on Saturday after Asbury Park defeated Florence, 42-18, in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group I championship game at The College of New Jersey.

Goodson said he regrets missing his junior year of football, especially after being part of the school’s 2009 title team.

“We didn’t have a good season last year and I felt like I owed my team because I wasn’t there,’’ he said.

When turnovers and special teams benefited Florence in the first half, the Flash had three possessions that moved into the red zone, only to be turned away each time, with stops made by Goodwin, defensive back Armond Conover and linebacker Tajier Hammary proving especially significant.

Somehow Asbury Park led 12-0 at halftime. Once at that point, the rest was easy.

“Corey is a beast on defense,’’ said Asbury Park coach Matt Ardizzone. “He gives us full effort on every single play and it‘s going to be real sad to see him go.’’

Asbury Park finished its season at 10-2, rebounding from a less-than-stellar 2010.

This is an article from NJ.com, here is a link to the article:

Would streamline firing steps; expand preschool, kindergarten

TRENTON — The state’s largest teachers union said Monday it would support a streamlined process to fire ineffective tenured teachers, but it also unveiled a package of proposals that would require a considerable increase in funding for public schools.

In addition to revamped tenure rules, the New Jersey Education Association called for an increase in preschool programs and full-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes for elementary schools, and new state grants to pay for parental involvement initiatives.

The package comes as state officials have signaled that education reform measures would move through the Legislature this fall. The NJEA lost a key battle over pension and benefit reform legislation in June and is looking to regroup on tenure reform, charter schools and school voucher bills.

Lynne Strickland, director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, which lobbies for suburban school districts, said she was doubtful the NJEA package would be received enthusiastically while money remains tight.

“It’s positive that they’re talking education issues at the top of the agenda,” Strickland said, and then added: “You’re talking billions of dollars. There are a lot of big ideas. Will there be enough money to support some of them?”

Steve Baker, a spokesman for the NJEA, said the proposals reflect what educational research shows is effective for student learning. The union did not develop a cost estimate for the programs, he added.

“We’re making the argument that, if you’re going to talk about education reform, let us look at the things that are demonstrated to be effective,” Baker said.

This is an article from the Asbury Park Press, here is a link to the article:

Accident victim’s friends, family fill the Paramount

ASBURY PARK — John U. Key Jr., the 37-year-old middle school teacher and assistant high school football coach who died in a Garden State Parkway accident Oct. 16, was remembered Monday as a quiet man who didn’t try to draw attention to himself, but let his life shine.

The Rev. Byron P. Wess, pastor of Key’s church, Second Baptist, made clear in his eulogy at the Paramount Theatre that Key’s premature death was not God’s doing. Rather, God is one’s strength when such a tragedy happens, Wess said.

Key died after being involved in a minor collision on the northbound lanes of the Parkway in Wall about 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning. He got out of his car and walked across several lanes to check on the occupants of the other car.

Key was killed when a third car struck him as he was making his way back to his own car, authorities have said.

“I’m sure you thought, ‘If only he hadn’t gotten on the Parkway, if only he hadn’t collided with the vehicle, if only he hadn’t gotten out of his car,’ ” Wess said. “But I submit the real tragedy is if John would have been the type of person who didn’t get out of his car.

“John died as he lived … moving beyond his space to see if someone needed something in their space,” the pastor said.

This was an article from the Asbury Park Press written by Nancy Shields:

ASBURY PARK — Assistant Asbury Park football coach John Key was an inspirational teacher during the past decade at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School and then this fall at the city middle school, said John Napolitani, the president of Asbury Park’s Education Association Monday.

Key, 37, died about 2 a.m. Sunday when he was hit by a car on the Garden State Parkway in Wall after getting out of his car to check to see if the occupants of another car he had collided with were unhurt.

“He was just an outstanding employee and had a wonderful rapport with the students,” said Napolitani, 40, who went to Ocean Township High School, where Key was as a star running back and linebacker from 1988 to 1991. “He always had a smile on his face and never had a bad thing to say about anyone.”

Napolitani said Key had just obtained a principal certificate and was looking to move to the next level in his career.

“If he had been given that opportunity, he would truly have been an outstanding adminstrator,” the union president said.

Key, a resident of Long Branch and the father of two children, had been a teacher in the Asbury Park schools since September 2000. He came on the high school coaching staff in June after previously coaching for four seasons at Monmouth Regional High School and before that at Ocean Township High School.

WALL — An Asbury Park Middle School teacher and veteran football coach involved in a two-car crash was struck and killed by a third car as he was crossing the Garden State Parkway early Sunday, officials said.
John Key, 37, who was in his first season as an assistant football coach at Asbury Park High School, was pronounced dead on the scene after being hit by a northbound Mercedes-Benz, Sgt. Brian Polite said. He was returning from checking on occupants of a car that he had collided with, Polite said.
Key, of Long Branch, was driving a black Chevrolet that collided with a white Honda at 2:08 a.m., sending the two cars to oppposite sides of the northern lanes, Polite said. After going to check on the safety of the occupants in the Honda, Key again crossed the four lanes on foot near the 98.4 mile marker and was hit, Polite said.
“At the point that he ran over to see if they were OK, he was not injured,” Polite said. “When he attempted to cross the roadway again, it was at that point that he was struck by a blue Mercedes-Benz.”

No other injuries were reported, and police did not release the identities of the Honda’s occupants.
A father of two young children, Key was a standout running back/linebacker at Ocean Township High School from 1988-91, said George Conti Jr., Key’s high school football head coach.
Key played varsity football his sophomore through senior years and was the Spartans’ team captain his senior year, Conti said

“He was a person everybody looked up to,’’ Conti said.

This is an article from the Asbury Park Press, here is a link to the article:

ASBURY PARK — The Board of Education is moving ahead to get a new synthetic turf football field installed by the end of the school year, and hired Leon S. Avakian Consulting Engineers to get bidding documents ready and to supervise the project.

The board Wednesday night awarded a $145,000 contract to the engineering firm.

Geoffrey Hastings, school business administrator, said Avakian was chosen after getting quotes from other firms. The total cost of the project is expected to be in the range of $1.1 million, school officials said.

Board President Gregory Hopson said the board has planned to get a turf field for some time because of the Canada geese problem on the field adjacent to Deal Lake.

“We do have the finances to put our turf in,” Hopson said Wednesday.

School officials also asked families to come to a 5:30 p.m. meeting Thursday, Oct. 27 to learn how to support their children’s education through the Title 1 federal aid program that gives additional funds to districts with at-risk students to ensure that all children have a fair opportunity to obtain high quality education.

That meeting will be in the Barack Obama Building at 1300 Bangs Ave., which is being refurbished for its new school and community uses now that it is no longer operating as a neighborhood school. The district has reopened the Dorothy McNish Parent Center at the Obama Building.

This is an article from the Asbury Park Press, here is a link to the article:

New administrator coming from Asbury Park

KEANSBURG — The Board of Education hired a business administrator and six teachers Tuesday night.

Corey Lowell, 36, of Asbury Park, will begin work as business administrator Sept. 28.

The $130,000-a-year job is a lateral move from her position as business administrator for the Asbury Park School District, she said. The new position is about $3,000 less-a-year.

“This opportunity (working for the Keansburg School District) will allow me to be more hands-on,” Lowell said.

Lowell is replacing Joan Nesenkar Saylor. Nesenkar Saylor has been the district’s business administrator since October 2009. As of October 2010, Nesenkar Saylor’s salary was $135,900, according to public records.

The salaries of the six teachers are being paid with federal funds through the FY11 No Child Left Behind program. The salaries are:

Sharon Conley, $95,107

Tammie Holcombe, $79,795

Cory Tirpack, $49,210

Nancy Varley, $58,075

Barbara Annuzzi, $72,770.

The funding is for 100 percent these teachers’m salaries.

Thomas Tramaglini’s salary is $45,500. The grant covers 35 percent of his salary.

The board voted unanimously to approve the recommendations of Gerald North, schools superintendent.

The Board of Education’s July 26 agenda included salary guidelines for substitute teachers ranging from $65 to $75 per day and home instruction/tutors at $32 per hour.

When North was questioned on the salaries for the new hires, he said he could only speak for himself and not for past officials.

North took over as superintendent as of July 1.

He remarked that all the school’s policies will be under review and reported on at board meetings. “Some changes will occur.’’