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June 20, 2024JerseyCAN Leader Testifies On NJ Students’ Poor Reading Skills
This morning Paula White, Executive Director of JerseyCAN, will provide testimony to the New Jersey Senate Education Committee on Thursday, July 20th at the State House Annex. In her remarks, Ms. White will advocate substantive literacy legislation and investment in public education.
JerseyCAN serves as the only statewide advocacy organization in New Jersey committed to ensuring access to high-quality public schools for every child regardless of zip code, cultural background, or socioeconomic status. Over the last year, JerseyCAN has built the New Jersey Legacy of Literacy (NJLL) Coalition, which serves as a statewide umbrella alliance that has united a series of diverse institutions, such as the Urban League of Essex County, The Reading League New Jersey, New Jersey Tutoring Corps, Decoding Dyslexia NJ, The Racial Equity Initiative, Inc., New Jersey Business and Industry Association, Teach for America New Jersey, NJ Children’s Foundation, Read 4 NJ, Project Ready, Parent Impact, My Brother’s Keeper Newark, Westside Citizens United, Camden Education Fund, Roots & Bridges, Newark Opportunity Youth Network, and Unapologetic Parents to advocate for the adopting of a high-quality statewide plan that addresses literacy in every public school in the state.
Last year, New Jersey’s State Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee noted that 58% of the state’s third graders are not meeting reading standards. For example, the Asbury Park school district did not have a single 3rd-grade student at grade level proficiency in the most recent state test administration. The gravity of third-grade literacy data in New Jersey was discussed in JerseyCAN’s most recent report, Leveraging Literacy: The Path to Education Recovery. In addition, The Nation’s Report Card, a biennial academic report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a congressionally mandated initiative administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), stated that New Jersey has failed to move the needle in closing socioeconomic or racial gaps in 4th-grade reading proficiency for the past twenty years.
Earlier this year, Governor Murphy delivered his 2024 State of State Address, where he outlined efforts to begin addressing literacy for K-12 students and, for the first time, embraced key aspects of the NJLL Coalition’s Declaration of Principles, including investment in teacher training, literacy assessments for students, and deep engagement with local universities and colleges to prepare future teachers to address the state’s literacy challenges.
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Oh Lord! And the NJEA just endorsed its’ President , Sean Spiller, to be the next Governor of New Jersey, without its’ 125 member panel interviewing any other gubernatorial candidates , other than Mr. Spiller. He has had many years to close the social economic and racial learning gaps New Jersey schools face as an executive member of the NJEA. NJ is the sixth most segregated school system in the nation. So much for “social justice” and equity. He had years to push the science of reading curriculum and be the cheerleader to get New Jersey teachers trained in the science of reading. Mississippi was able to perform the “Mississippi Miracle” – why not New Jersey? As President of the NJEA, he championed school closures unnecessarily too long according to the NJ Independent COVID-19 Report, causing devastating learning losses especially in the marginalized communities. Many prominent legislators admit these students will never catch up. A life sentence. Lack of leadership did not see this as an urgent issue to address, so it floundered in the halls of the NJ State House. I guess the thinking is- every war has collateral damage and every politician has a war chest. Sean Spiller’s is confidently named , “Protecting Democracy.” A cleverly named nonprofit funded by the NJEA using its union members dues without their knowledge or consent. This may be business as usual, but it doesn’t mean it is just.