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This Is Why New Jersey Needs Education Reform Right Now

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The Associated Press published a story earlier this week which explains, quite clearly, one of the major problems with education in New Jersey and around the country. I would encourage you to take a few minutes to click on the link above and read the story.

Did you read the story? Well, whether you did or you didn’t here are some quotes that made me shake my head:

Nationwide, about a third of first-year students in 2007-08 had taken at least one remedial course, according to the U.S. Department of Education. At public two-year colleges, that number rises to about 42 percent

Really? Come on, people. Our public schools are sending kids to college that aren’t prepared for college level activity. That’s unacceptable. Who is simply passing these students in the public schools and letting them graduate when they can’t make the grade? Find that person and fire them because they are hurting the entire educational system. Look, some people weren’t made to graduate from primary school because they can’t grasp the concepts. I’m not trying to be like Chris Rock or Ron White and make a joke about “What ever happened to stupid kids?” but the truth is that some kids just can’t grasp college level education and others can’t grasp junior and senior high school level education. Or, at least they can’t grasp it the way that it is currently being taught (hint: charter schools are the way to fix this problem!).

In a 2007 ACT National Curriculum Survey of college professors, 65 percent said their states poorly prepare students for college-level coursework.

Given that this is now my fourth year as an Adjunct Professor at the local college and the end of my first year as an online instructor for another college, I absolutely agree. My observations come more from the local college where I interact directly with Freshmen and Sophomore students. There are some students that are simply not prepared for college level work, period. There’s no doubt about it. I see students that can’t spell simple words, others that can’t pull themselves away from their BlackBerries to take notes, and still more that can’t understand simple concepts. It’s horrifying – and that’s without even diving into the fact that none of these kids can write without plagiarizing from Wikipedia. I think I’ve written it on here before, but I’ve actually had students copy and paste from Wikipedia and keep the HTML formatted footnotes and endnotes in their paper!

“We’re telling kids you’ll be a third-class citizen if you don’t go to college,” said Marty Nemko, an education policy consultant and author. “And colleges are taking kids who in previous generations would not have gone to college.”

Nemko favors an apprenticeship program similar to those offered in Finland, Japan, and Germany.

That’s a point that Daniel Paz, a student in Bowen’s class, says he can relate to.

“College is not for me,” said Paz, who graduated from high school last year and is considering a career in criminal justice. “It’s something I have to do, but if there was another way, than I’d be doing something else.”

Daniel Paz speaks for all students in his position – we tell our young people that college is something that they “have” to do or they won’t get a good job and won’t live a happy life. That’s just not true. Sure, the statistics point to an incredible increase in overall lifetime earnings for those with higher degrees and that is a fact that you can’t really question. But not all people are cut out for college. And just because you don’t go to college doesn’t mean that you are going to be a third class citizen. There needs to be more apprentice programs and technical training programs for non-college bound students. America needs to break out of its antiquated (and downright stupid) mindset that our children must go to elementary school and then they must go to high school and then they must go to college in order to be properly prepared to contribute to society. That’s crap.

New Jersey – and America – needs sweeping education reform right now. Let’s hope that something gets done about this before it’s too late.

Heading To Washington, DC For A Few Days

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A little bit later today I’m headed down to Washington, DC for a United States Department of Education conference. My portion of the conference will deal with charter schools and, specifically, how to get better financing terms for their facility needs. Oh, if any of you ever wondered what I spend the bulk of my actual work day doing, well…that’s it!

I wrote up a few entries and set them to automatically upload over the next few days while I’ll be away. So keep on coming back to JerseySmarts.com and you’ll continue to be enlightened and entertained while I try to make some socially responsible financial magic happen down in the nation’s capital!

Charter Schools Getting Short-Changed in NJ

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Some of you may already know this, but a good portion of my day is spent working with charter schools in New Jersey and trying to find ways for them to purchase, lease, or renovate school facilities. If you don’t know, charter schools are free, public schools that whose goal is to provide a better education than the traditional public school system. By and large, these schools meet or exceed their local district’s performance on standardized testing and some of the best charter schools (which are located in some of the worst areas of the state) have track records of sending 100% of their high school graduates to college.

They’re a pretty good option for those parents living in an area where they do not trust the local district and cannot afford private school for their kids.

What has always amazed me about charter schools in New Jersey, though, is how they are placed so far behind the starting line and yet still achieve the success that they achieve. Alexis King, the founder and lead person of Hope Academy Charter School in Asbury Park, puts it best in a recent op-ed:

The original New Jersey law called for charter public schools to receive 90 percent of funding for each child in a traditional district school. This has not happened across the board. Statewide in New Jersey’s 62 charter public schools, children are funded on average at 78 percent and in some schools as low as 65 percent of district school funding.

But for Hope Academy, where we teach children in kindergarten through eighth grade, the state has reduced funding in the proposed state budget from about $14,000 per child this year to less than $12,000, even though it provides nearly $26,000 per child in Asbury Park’s district schools. So for us the ratio is now less than 50 percent and barely half of what the original charter school law says our children should have.

There are a few different things going on here. First, I’d prefer to leave the conversation about whether or not more money should be spent on urban students than suburban students. To a large degree, I think the answer is clearly “no,” but such a simplistic response doesn’t take into account all of the complexities of the current school funding formula.

Second, and more importantly and germane to this conversation, is the fact that a quality school like Hope Academy is getting their funding cut to such a dramatic degree. Unreal. It’s hard to imagine that this is allowed to take place in a state that is so liberal that it’s supreme court has suggested that each student has a right to an equal education (where is that in the Constitution again?). For such a progressive state, this is shocking.

This conversation, though, will likely be overshadowed by the fact that the entire school funding formula has been the focus of debate. Personally, I think the entire school funding formula needs radical change from the bottom up.

Just Didn’t Get Around To It Today

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Hey everyone! I had a really good post that I was working on for today regarding charter school funding in New Jersey, but I didn’t get around to finishing it. So…you can expect that post to be coming in the next couple of days. Also, I have some work to do on the site in terms of preparing posts days and weeks in advance like I was doing a few months back.

Anyway, I’ll be back tomorrow with some interesting stuff – come back and take a read!

Plastic Bags are the Enemy in Red Bank

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The Asbury Park Press ran a story earlier this week talking about how Red Bank’s Mayor Pasquale “Pat” Menna and Councilman Michael R. DuPont are waging a war against plastic bags in their city. Originally, they wanted to outlaw the use of the bags and distribute $100 to $500 fines for any retailer caught using them. Since that resolution didn’t pass the city council, they are now seeking to create a “green” designation for those city retailers who are environmentally friendly. A piece of the article:

Menna said he hopes to name two borough schoolchildren — one from the local public school system and one from the Red Bank Charter School — to a committee to be formed in January. Menna has asked the top school administrator for each for help nominating students.

“I’ll ask for an advisory panel to designate which stores are using the cutting edge of green initiatives,” Menna said. “Kids are on the cutting edge of environmentalism, they can teach us about being stewards of the environment.”

Menna had proposed a “green” designation for local businesses as an alternative to various suggestions about banning plastic bags. “Green” is the popular adjective for people, businesses and other entities that are sensitive to environmental concerns or which promote environmentalism.

I’m not exactly sure what the end game is for the Mayor and Councilman, but I’m glad to see that they are bringing schoolchildren into the legislative process (and especially a child from the Red Bank Charter School).

While banning their use is certainly one way to curb the abundance of plastic bags out there, I think people should be introduced to new forms of eco-friendly shopping gear. I have these “Green Bags” that I bought at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and they’re great! Plus, you can buy reusable canvas bags at most grocery stores and most stores are also including a plastic bag recycling receptacle in their front entrances. All of these items should be encouraged as we move towards a greener, more sustainable society.