Sunday Leftovers

New Jersey School Boards Association Executive Director Larry Feinsod told NJ Today that the damage inflicted by Hurricane Sandy will create a “new normal” for school districts:
“Everyone has put on their thinking cap and have come up with some tremendously creative ideas and that includes crossing district lines, that includes utilizing churches and synagogues for schools, it encompasses using community centers,” Feinsod said. “In some cases they’re using schools that are three towns away.”

Earlier this year, three Camden parents filed a complaint that their children were denied a “thorough and efficient” education because the local schools were dysfunctional. (For background, see here.) An administrative law judge denied their request for immediate relief – placement in a different district – because he said that there was no evidence of “irreparable harm” if swift action wasn’t taken. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Comm. Cerf affirmed the ALJ’s ruling. From the Inquirer:

Lawyers for the boys' parents hope to expand their legal battle into a class action, allowing the district's nearly 15,000 students to transfer to private schools or to public schools outside Camden with the cost to be paid by the Camden district. Camden currently spends $22,000 per student.

New data from the U.S. Dept. of Education shows that NJ's 2010-2011 high school graduation rate is  83%.  We’re tied for twelfth place with six other states. In previous years NJ’s graduation rate was as high as 95%, but that number didn’t account for kids who dropped out or got lost in the system. According to The Record, “Iowa had the highest rate of 88 percent, followed by Vermont and Wisconsin at 87 percent.”

Ed. Comm. Chris Cerf sent a short survey to every district and charter school in the state, reports NJ Spotlight, asking them about the “practical impact” of teacher seniority protections on “their ability to manage their personnel.” In other words, does the practice of LIFO (last in, first out) when laying off staff members get in the way of building a high-quality teaching cadre? Cerf says that  “the results of the survey would help determine how big a priority it should be for the administration.” 

The Record surveys North Jersey municipalities and school districts about the impact of the 2% cap on budget increases.  Hawthorne School Superintendent Robert Mooney says, ““It’s not even remotely sustainable.”  Robert Finger, business administrator for the Teaneck Schools say, “[We], and probably every other district, will be saying: OK, we are staying within the 2 percent cap. But guess what? Courtesy busing is going away. Class sizes will increase. We will put off doing that new roof. And we won’t be expanding the library.”

(In related news, Sen. Steve Sweeney has proposed legislation that would penalize towns and school districts that ignore recommendations for sharing services. [Star-Ledger].)

The Trenton Times reports that “the state Department of Education is investigating claims that Princeton High School distorted attendance records for some students so they could graduate on time. “We can tell you that the Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance is currently investigating an allegation that false attendance records were filed for some students at Princeton High School to allow them to graduate,” spokesman Richard Vespucci said yesterday. “The investigation is ongoing, and we have no further comment at this time.”

Caleb Rossiter of America University:  “The dirty little secret of American education is that not only do half of students in high-poverty high schools drop out, but most of those who graduate—as I found in my two years teaching and testing students—operate at about the fifth-grade level in academics, organization and behavior. These graduates must then take noncredit remedial courses should they try to go to college.”