Wednesday, May 23, 2012
After redistricting, state’s northernmost district doesn’t get the race it was looking for
- ELECTIONS
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
By Matt Manochio, NJSpotlight.com U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, the current G.O.P. occupant and a resident of Sussex County, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2002 and appears primed to strongly defend the seat. He faces a primary challenge from two Bergen County residents, Michael Cino and Bonnie Somer, both of whom concede the odds of winning are against them. The Democrats also have a contested primary. Teaneck’s Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen, former U.S. Marine Jason Castle and Lyndon LaRouche Democrat Diane Sare are vying for their party’s nomination on June 5. But that contest won’t provide the matchup Republicans had envisioned when they drew the new district lines last December, putting U.S. Rep. Steven Rothman, who …
Friday, April 27, 2012
Former Bergen school administrator says enough is enough with standardized tests.
As hundreds of thousands of New Jersey schoolchildren sit down for state testing over the course of the next month, NJ Spotlight came upon at least three families who are sitting this one out. Particularly notable: They are teachers and administrators themselves, past and present. And each said that's part of the reason they've decided to opt out their kids, having seen how pervasive testing has become in schools where they’ve worked. “Educators have to be first with this,” said Maryann Reilly, a Ringwood mother, education consultant, former school administrator in Newark, Hackensack , and most recently assistant superintendent in Morristown. “If people on the inside aren’t doing this, how can we expect our neighbors to,” she said. In her …
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Melding local governance and state authority in the service of disadvantaged kids
- OPINION
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Sunday, October 23, 2011
By Laura Waters, NJSpotlight.com The deadline just passed for the third round of Race To The Top, the federal government's education reform competition. Maybe the third time's the charm for beleaguered New Jersey, which lost the first two rounds -- the first by miles, the second by inches. Now we're trying yet again, this time for a potential $60 million targeted for early childhood education. Buck up, Garden State. Our status as an also-ran is no indication of our importance in the roiling national debate about the proper role of the government in public education. In fact, we're a barometer for gauging the national zeitgeist, with a couple of Jersey twists. Consider the following exchange at a debate among candidates for the Republican …
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Local autonomy, rather than inflexible formulas, is the key to gauging teacher performance
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011
By Arnold Kling, NJSpotlight.com New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would like to improve the way that teachers are compensated. He wants to get away from the rigid, credentials-based and tenure-protected system that exists today. Instead, he proposes to convene a task force that will "be charged with recommending a system that elevates the role of student learning in evaluations and fairly and transparently assesses teacher and principal performance." The current approach to compensation in primary education certainly is flawed. Quality teaching does not come from credentials. Instead, good teachers make themselves, through relentless effort at self-improvement. Seniority is not a meaningful indicator: some teachers use their years of …
paul smith
6:36 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012
You hit the nail on the head. Let the red states govern themselves according to the Tea Party Mantra- that means we actually geta a fair shake from Washingtion instead of 61 cents for every buck sent to the GOP congress. I pray that people understand what a useless hypocrite Garrett is and turn him out of office. He can then retire to his shrub farm and get those tax breaks. more ›