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The mission of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, the unifying professional association of school leaders, is to ensure...Read More

July 10, 2015

This special announcement will provide you with up-to-date information on pertinent educational issues that are part of the State Board's agenda.

Eyes on the NJ State Board of Education
Meeting Date: July 8, 2015


New Leadership Elected for NJSBOE.
Left, Pottersville's resident Marc Biedron, co-founder of The Willow School, a private school in Gladstone, and Founder of Solid Wood Construction LLC, was unanimously re-elected Board President. Right, Board Vice President Joe Fisicaro, Evesham Township, was unanimously re-elected for another term. He is a staff member in the Special Education Unit of the Burlington County Institute of Technology in Medford. The Governor appointed both Board Members to the State Board in 2011.

Commissioner's Report
Appointment of State District Superintendent for Newark
The State Board approved an adoption resolution naming Former NJDOE Commissioner Chris Cerf the State District Superintendent of the State-Operated School District of the City of Newark, effective July 8, 2015.

Achieve NJ Educator Evaluation: Year One Reflections
NJDOE Assistant Commissioner/Chief Talent Officer Peter Shulman provided additional analysis of the first year of implementation of AchieveNJ, the state's new educator evaluation and support system. Since the release of the 2013-14 Final AchieveNJ Implementation Report last month, NJDOE has spent more time examining the data for trends and areas of improvement. This analysis shows that novice teachers (those with 0-2 years of experience in a district) were more than twice as likely to earn Partially Effective ratings as experienced teachers - and that experienced teachers were more than twice as likely to earn Highly Effective ratings. On July 15, state- and district-level educator evaluation data will be available for download.

Standards Review Process
At the request of the Governor, NJDOE will review New Jersey's Core Curriculum Content Standards in English language arts and mathematics to develop higher standards that reflect the educational needs and goals of our communities. NJDOE proposed a standards review process to be led by professional New Jersey educators. The following principles will guide this local review: consistency; focus on the standards; improve what exists today rather than start from scratch; and public input. NJDOE anticipates details regarding nomination forms and applications for the Standards Review Committee and the three-content subcommittees will be presented next week. NJASA will update you as information is available.

Presentation by Passaic County Educational Services Commission (PCESC)
PCESC Chief Education Officer Diana Lobosco requested approval for a name change to accurately represent the geographic areas served, and to enlarge their purpose beyond those identified in the original petition to reflect the current scope of services needed by their clients.
 
Second Discussion Bilingual Education - Division of Student Services & Career Readiness 
At the time of the meeting, there are no changes. The State Board heard testimony later in the day regarding the readoption with amendments to the regulations pertaining to bilingual education proposed at N.J.A.C. 6A:15, Bilingual Education pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:35-15 to 26.

 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at agallagher@njasa.net or 609-599-2900, ext. 126.  
 
Sincerely,

ahg signature
Anne H. Gallagher
NJASA Director of Communications