New Ratings System Unveiled for NJ Schools [AUDIO]

Governor Chris Christie and Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf visited a school in Secaucus to propose an education reform agenda for the state as part of a recent application for a waiver from the federal “No Child Left Behind Act.” New Jersey is one of 11 states seeking relief from the federal provisions.

“There is no issue more important to the future of our state and country than putting the opportunity of a quality education within every child’s reach, no matter their zip code or economic circumstances. Our education reforms, contained in four specific bills sitting in the legislature today, are aggressive in meeting this challenge, bipartisan and in-line with the Obama Administration’s national agenda to raise standards, strengthen accountability systems, support effective teachers and focus more resources to the classroom,” said Governor Chris Christie.

“These reforms provide a comprehensive approach that recognizes there is no single solution. For a new accountability system to be effective and successful in benefitting children, we must have all of the tools that are provided for in this legislation. A piecemeal, incremental approach will not turn around our failing schools or close the achievement gap.”

The bipartisan package of bills includes:

· School Children First Act (S-2881/A-4168; Senator Kyrillos/Assemblyman Webber): The bill would create a statewide educator evaluation system consistent with the goals of the Obama Administration, ties tenure to effectiveness, ends forced placements and Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) personnel policies by using both seniority and educator effectiveness in staffing decisions, and reforms compensation systems. These changes will allow New Jersey to identify and reward the most effective teachers in a meaningful and fair way, while also better supporting those comparative few teachers who are not effective.

· Charter Reform Bill (A-4167; Assemblyman Webber): The bill provides critical updates to strengthen and improve New Jersey’s charter law. The bill increases the number of charter school authorizers, permits public schools to be converted to charter schools by local boards of education as well as the Department Of Education Commissioner, and increase charter autonomy while making them more accountable.

· Opportunity Scholarship Act (S-1872/A-2810; Senators Lesniak and Kean/Assemblymen Fuentes and DeCroce): The bill would provide tax credits to entities contributing to scholarships for low-income students.

· Urban Hope Act (S-3002/A-4264; Senator Norcross/Assemblyman Fuentes): The bill provides for the creation of as many as ten “transformation school projects” in five of the State’s worst performing districts.

“NCLB remains an important piece of legislation because it put a renewed focus on student achievement and accountability in K-12 education and highlighted the needs of typically underperforming student populations. However, the law suffers from some significant flaws, including its failure to give credit for progress and its one-size-fits-all approach to labeling schools as failing,” said Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf.

“Through our waiver application we have developed a new accountability system that allows for differentiated supports and interventions of the schools with the most pervasive and persistent achievement problems.

In developing a new accountability system, the Department will focus its supports and interventions on the lowest performing schools in the state. The Department will create three tiers of schools – Priority Schools, Focus Schools and Reward Schools – which will be identified using both growth and absolute proficiency.

The schools will be evaluated based on comparison to other schools, demographics, performance on state tests over time, and additonal college and career readiness points. The reports will help districts focus on areas of low performance.

To move the reforms, Governor Christie will have to work with the democratic-controlled legislature, who have some opposing views.

Assembly Democratic spokesman Tom Hester Jr says while the governor’s input is welcome, “his education agenda has so far been tainted by poisonous rhetoric and politics and been a failure for children and property taxpayers, so we’ll continue working on our own education reforms. The governor will get the chance to decide whether to stand with Democrats to reform education or play politics by blocking reform.”

Christie said he has spoken with Senate President Steven Sweeny on several occassions and they seem to agree in part on merit pay and teacher tenure reform.

Senate Democratic spokesman Derek Roseman says the Senate President has made it clear that school reform is on the Senate’s agenda, “and he is committed to reform reached through true bipartisan partnership with stakeholders throughout the education system. As Commissioner Cerf noted, ‘there is no one-size-fits-all approach to school improvement,’ yet the governor contradicts that every time he says his idea of tenure reform is the only reform. Tenure reform must make sense and lead to better outcomes for all school children, not be a political cudgel for a governor who has scapegoated teachers as the enemy for the past two years.”