Two weeks ago the Christie Administration announced that the State was taking over the Camden City Public Schools District. Some view this additional measure of state control (Camden has had a state-appointed Fiscal Monitor for several years) as a boon to a city wracked by educational woes. But a vocal constituency contends that this loss of local control will lead to a surge of charter schools and other forms of school choice that will ultimately hurt traditional district schools. This disapprobation was on full display Monday evening at a Roundtable hosted by NJ Spotlight where, for example, a disgruntled audience member shouted at a Newark charter school leader, "You're an outsider! You're a disgrace!"Read the rest here.
Sometimes timing is everything. About two weeks ago the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers released a report called "The Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effects Study (APPLES)." Contrary to other national research, which has shown a somewhat modest impact of preschool on a student's economic and academic prospects, this study extolled N.J.'s exemplary preschool program, which serves 41,000 kids who live in our poorest cities.
Labels: camden, charter schools, preschools, school choice