WABC 7 coverage of the Newark Public Schools Advisory Board meeting on March 22, 2011. Mashea Ashton, the CEO of the Newark Charter School Fund, comments on the plan to co-locate charter schools with public schools.

News 12 coverage of the Newark Public Schools Advisory Board meeting on March 22, 2011. Mashea Ashton, the CEO of the Newark Charter School Fund, comments on the plan to co-locate charter schools with public schools.

This story original appeared in LocalTalkNews.com

Newark’s University Heights Charter School is one of just 18 charter schools from across the country, and only two in the tri-state area, to be honored by the New Leaders for New Schools’ Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) program for accomplishing breakthrough student achievement gains.

Educators at the school will receive individual financial rewards in exchange for working with New Leaders for New Schools to document and share the practices that led to their successes.

Read this article as it originally appeared in The Star-Ledger

Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s promise was simple: No action would be taken on school reform without the support of the community.

But roughly a month before the results of an exhaustive community survey on school reform were set to be released, a plan was obtained by The Star-Ledger detailing significant changes throughout the school system, including a dramatic expansion of charter schools.

Some public schools in Newark are among the best in the city, performing as well as charters in certain areas, according to the annual Kids Count survey to be released today.

Comparing test scores and demographic data, the report found public schools had the same passing rates on average as charters at the fourth grade level, thanks to a decade of significant academic gains.

This article originally appeared in LocalTalkNews.com

When Executive Director Glen Pinder first arrived at Lady Liberty Academy Charter School in Newark last year, the school was disorderly, students were not on task in the classroom and many did not wear their uniforms, a requirement mandated by the school’s charter.

Today, the new administration is firmly in control, classroom instruction is mission oriented with the goal of improving reading and math skills and nearly all of students are in full uniform.

Now just a few months into the school year, Pinder is more confident about his faculty and believes there is a greater sense of camaraderie and professionalism.

Read this interview as it originally appeared on Education Week

Michael F. Shaughnessy
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales, New Mexico 

1) I understand CEO FACEBOOK Mark Zuckerberg has pledged 100 million dollars to the Newark Schools. When did this come about and what has prompted it? 

Mayor Booker has been vocal about his effort to bring more resources to Newark, especially for Newark’s youth. He has been a champion for the Newark Charter School Fund and its no surprise that he would champion the effort to convince a philanthropist such as Mark Zuckerberg to make Newark the ideal place for a significant investment with the goal of improving academic achievement for Newark students. I believe over the last several weeks the commitment from Mark Zuckerberg began to take shape and was made official with the announcement last Friday on the Oprah Winfrey show.