Filed under: News
Please read Booker's moving essay from The Huffington Post, 'A Historic Opportunity':
The public school system in Newark -- the largest in New Jersey -- is no different from most urban school districts across the country. Challenged by such issues as uneven student achievement, cuts in funding and growing mandates, our schools have failed to deliver on the promise of providing a high quality education to every child.
Newark has made some progress in recent years: several nationally recognized Blue Ribbon Award-winning schools, a thriving charter school sector, and a new district uniform policy. And our hallways and classrooms certainly do not suffer from a shortage of heroes whose tireless dedication and personal sacrifice positively impact the lives of thousands of children each year.
Still, by most objective measures, our public schools produce student outcomes that are well below the standard of a great American education and what we in Newark know is possible. Almost half of our students do not graduate high school. Like our city's ongoing efforts to improve public safety and to create a fiscally stable government, the systemic and enduring transformation that is needed in our school district will require our collective courage and commitment over the long term.
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Amongst all American cities, Newark now has an unprecedented opportunity to break the cycle of failure and low expectations in public education. It is with tremendous hope and confidence in our potential that we announced a generous $100M grant from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to support Newark public schools -- the largest investment in a school district in our State's history.
Read the rest of 'A History Opportunity' on The Huffington Post.
Talk Back!
Do you think the $100 million donation Mark Zuckerberg made to Newark public schools will be able to fix the city's school system if the same administrators remain in place? Leave your comments below!