Collaboration at its best! Three teachers (and bloggers extraordinaire) take the Star Ledgers Editor Tom Moran to task for his cheer leading on behalf of One Newark, for his characterizations of parents who disagree with State Superintendent Cami Anderson as “shrieking, shrill and unreasonable, and for refusing to educate himself about the policies he endorses. Here are some excerpts: You’ve ignored the warnings of teachers, parents, community leaders, researchers, and students, preferring instead to cling to recycled talking points crafted by those with scant little experience in education policy, but much to gain in profits. Shame on you for sanctioning One Newark, a plan so controversial and discriminatory that it’s the subject of both state and federal civil rights complaints. Shame on you for ignoring and then blaming the people your newspaper is supposed to serve. Shame on you for refusing to educate yourself about the policies you endorse. Why do you insist that educators must be held accountable for the sins of greed and the failure of government to address generational poverty, while no one holds you, the editorial director of the state’s largest newspaper, accountable for the half-truths and misinformation you spread? You claim: “At the same time, the city’s most successful charter school chains will take over management of three district schools, fueling their explosive growth.” As we have explained, the ‘success’ of these charters hinges on the fact that they do not serve the same population of students as their neighboring public schools. There is no evidence Newark’s charters can succeed with equivalent populations of students to those of NPS. The plan is racially biased, both against students and against their teachers. The district has apparently committed several serious methodological errors in creating the plan; we say apparently because NPS has never released its methods, and the Star-Ledger has never demanded that they do. The information the district released in the One Newark application about the quality of Newark’s schools is invalid. We would think this last issue would concern you, a journalist, the most. You claim that Newark’s parents are clamoring to get into charter schools. What if, however, those parents are making their choices based on false information from Anderson’s administration? What if the waiting lists you point to—lists, by the way, whose lengths are wildly exaggerated—are the product of both the state’s neglect of Newark’s public schools and oversold claims from NPS—and your editorial page—of charter schools’ successes? The sad truth is that parents in any other mostly white, mostly wealthy suburban community would never willingly subject their own children to what’s happening in Newark right now: Public schools being closed without community input; Children in the same family being sent to different schools in different parts of town on a transportation system that’s never been tested; Tax dollars going to a school system that is separate and unequal: that segregates the neediest students from those who are the easiest and least expensive to educate; The harsh, unforgiving “no excuses” disciplinary policies that are characteristic of so many charter schools; Mass layoffs of education professionals; A superintendent who has been a colossal failure at fiscal management; Schools in such disrepair that they are unsafe to occupy; and A superintendent who refuses to listen, who refuses to attend board of ed meetings, and who is not supported by the community. The message Newark parents hear from you is that if they would just shut up, take off their tin foil hats and let all these rich, smart white folk completely up-end their lives, they’ll crawl back on their hands and knees someday in thanks and praise. But you’re wrong. Just because many are working class or poor, don’t speak the King’s English as well as you, refuse to stand on protocol at board of ed meetings because they’re sick and tired of the people in charge not listening when they use their ‘indoor voices’, are “voting with their feet” (as you so love to say of all those charter parents) by boycotting the first day of school, you accuse them of being crazy and—perhaps the cruelest cut of all—not giving a damn about their own children: The fact is, the majority of opposition comes from parents and students who are supported by the clergy, unionized education professionals (whom you seem to hate for some reason even though NJ consistently ranks at the top in public education) and elected officials, some of whom also happen to live in the community. In case you hadn’t noticed, Mayor Ras Baraka ran and won on a platform to stop this madness. He was elected by a majority of the citizens of Newark, and he has dedicated his professional career—most recently as principal of Central High School—to the children and families of Newark. Sincerely, Marie Corfield Ani McHugh (aka. Teacherbiz) teacherbiz.wordpress/2014/09/02/an-open-letter-to-star-ledger-editorial-board-director-tom-moran/ Mark Weber (aka. Jersey Jazzman)
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 12:45:31 +0000
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