Author Archive
New Jersey’s Number One Rank in Academics Is a Mirage.
By, Barbara Martinez Being a Jersey Girl, you would think I would be so proud to hear that New Jersey ranks number one in the nation in academic achievement. Unfortunately, that rank is somewhat of a mirage. Come a little closer so you can see better. As Tim Daly, co-founder of EdNavigator and former President…Read More…
Mayor Baraka did something pretty amazing.
Mayor Baraka did something pretty amazing. The Mayor accepted a challenge from the Mayor of Camden. The challenge was this: Whose high school seniors are going to file the most FAFSA forms? It’s a very important challenge because the FAFSA form unlocks millions of dollars of funding for our students to go to a four-year…Read More…
If We Can Agree on This, We Can Agree on So Much More.
It’s not every day that you get the teachers’ union and the charter schools to agree on something. But they did recently on a very important topic: how to get more teachers into classrooms. Both groups successfully urged Governor Murphy to sign legislation to kill New Jersey’s “basic skills test” for teachers. The problem was that…Read More…
NEWARK COMMON APP MARKS STRONG LAUNCH
NEWARK COMMON APP MARKS STRONG LAUNCH Innovative Enrollment Portal Opened Friday for Second Year of Operation with Added Schools, and an Accessible and Convenient Application Process www.NewarkCommonApp.org Families flooded the Newark Common App (NCA), which launched the second year of the application and enrollment portal available to all families interested in attending the vast majority…Read More…
What Getting Thrown Out Of High School Taught Me About Equity | Op-Ed
When I was 14 years old, the principal of my school asked me a simple question that did not have a simple answer. “Barbara, what’s your address?” It wasn’t so simple because minutes earlier, I had been pulled out of class and told to collect my things from my locker and come to her office….Read More…
NEW JERSEY CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION NAMES BARBARA MARTINEZ AS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
NEW JERSEY CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION NAMES BARBARA MARTINEZ AS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Newark Native, Education Advocate and Veteran Investigative Journalist Takes Reigns of Leading Non-Profit Dedicated to Improving Public Schools [Newark, New Jersey – September 21, 2023] The New Jersey Children’s Foundation (NJCF) announced today that it has named Newark native, education advocate and veteran investigative journalist…Read More…
A Major Milestone.
Newark Common App, the new, state-of-the art school enrollment platform in Newark, recently passed a major milestone: releasing the initial round of school matches for the 2023-24 school year to all Newark families who applied by the March 6 deadline. Newarkers demanded an easier, more transparent and equitable school enrollment process – and in its…Read More…
A Successful Start For Newark Common App.
I promised I’d have more to say about our exciting new enrollment system Newark Common App and now that we’ve completed the initial phase of the application process (after extending the March 3 deadline to March 6) I think it’s a good time to take stock of our initial results. Just to review, Newark Common App is…Read More…
Don’t Believe the Hype: Growing Charter Schools Is Not a ‘Zero Sum” Proposition.
There’s a thing that happens when you do anything that supports charter schools: you get labeled “pro-charter” and then, magically, your views on basically every other issue in education get disqualified by some. You’d be surprised at the amount of time some people spend worrying about whether they’ll get invited to certain events, or what…Read More…
No School Was Immune To Learning Loss.
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lock-downs wreaked havoc on the health of Newark families, on the economic vitality of our city, and on the educational achievement of our children. With some small variance, remote learning was the norm in the 18 or so months from March 2020 when schools first closed, to September 2021, when…Read More…