Help build civic "people power" for kids in Jersey City to have water fountains in every public school

I recently spoke after mass at my church, St. Aedan’s, about the fact that most of Jersey City’s public schools lack working water fountains in all the schools. The result, I shared, was that kids often go through the school day ...

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JCPS Update: Positive school climate, trauma informed schools, and social emotional support for kids

In my years within Jersey City Public Schools as both an advocate and a parent, I have heard stories of children who experience poor school climate. School climate is a casual term that some of us may use in a ...

Update on Water Advocacy in Jersey City Public Schools

It’s worth sharing some good news as we head into the new school year: Jersey City Together’s education team has helped push for water remediation in over a dozen schools. Specifically, more than a dozen schools now have new, 21st ...

Take Action: Support Jersey City Public Schools

TAKE ACTION FOR OUR SCHOOLSThe Jersey City Board of Education will vote on the 2022/23 schools budget on March 21st. Share why supporting the schools is important to you. This letter was created by the Jersey City Together Education Team ...

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JCPS Mental Health - 2021 Call to Action

Help compel the Jersey City BOE to improve mental health services for our students After years of cuts, the district is finally fully funded and also supported with federal ARP aid. We need to see the investment in our city's ...

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Jersey City Public Schools Urgently Need Counselors for Our Kids

Update: the BOE did not speak in public to the issue of mental health counselors at the Nov 29th BOE meeting but they did take up an issue around teacher pay which you can read about here. The post below ...

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Transparency & Better Communications Needed for Jersey City Public Schools

The Board of Education (BOE) nearly shut down “remote” public comment last week and it’s worth explaining what happened, simply to highlight how important it is for the district and board to improve transparency and communication – both internally but ...

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NJ’s “Cost Per Pupil” is a flawed comparison of school district cost.

How NJ's "cost-per-pupil" can mislead taxpayers to interpret "investing more in higher needs students" as "overspending" On its face, the NJ Department of Education's "cost-per-pupil" is an inviting metric upon which to compare and contrast school spending among New Jersey's ...

The Board of Education Should Approve Superintendent Walker's Schools Budget & Fully Fund Our Schools

Superintendent Walker proposed a fully funded budget on Monday, March 15th, a monumental step forward in Jersey City’s efforts to climb out of a gaping funding hole. The Board of Education should approve this budget. Our children are currently underfunded ...

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Jersey City Schools Parent Advocacy Update: Connect with Jersey City Together

COVID19 remote learning is extremely challenging. It's important to note that some challenges are exacerbated by chronic underfunding of Jersey City Public Schools. For instance, our schools lack: social workers crisis intervention teachers psychologists math & literacy coaches Teachers, paras, ...

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Thoughts on Jersey City's 2020 Board of Education (BOE) Election

I’ve been getting asked about my thoughts re: the Board of Education election. I wanted to offer two insights that matter to me from a funding and advocacy perspective. Take it or leave it; every vote is sacrosanct and reflects ...

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Safely Reopening Our Schools in NJ: Understanding the Constraints of Fragmentation in the Garden State

I have been trying to learn about the practical implications of reopening our schools in the fall. The stakes are profoundly important and the landscape is fraught with complexity and uncertainty, making this both a bumpy but extremely important learning ...

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Open Letter re: Police Reform to the Mayor, City Council, Chief of Police and Public Safety Director

A Call to Action in Jersey City: Tell Mayor Fulop, the City Council, Chief Kelly, and Director Shea: We need reform NOW! The Jersey City Anti-Violence Coalition Movement (JCACM) has drafted this open letter with three concrete, initial demands for ...

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It's Now or Never to Support the 2020/21 Schools Budget for Our Kids.

It's Saturday May 9th and we are within a week of the 2020/21 schools budget being passed for next year. Parents are on the 98th yard line of a fight to push Superintendent Walker's full budget across the goal line ...

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Approve the 2020/21 #JerseyCity Schools Budget: Invest in Jersey City's Kids

PS #5 PTA Campaign: Tell the Board of Education: Approve the 2020/21 Schools Budget - Invest in Jersey City's Kids The PTA Advocacy Team at Dr. Michael Conti PS #5 School created this "Call to Action" email campaign ahead of ...

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Jersey City Public Schools Enrollment Data Shows Diversity of District, Imperative to Progressively Fund

For the last 10 years, Jersey City has been DIVESTING in its public schools. All the while, our city has grown. Here is what got cut JUST LAST YEAR (2019/20 schools budget): 160 teachers - CUT 25 teachers’ aides & ...

Thoughts on Technology and Mental Health in "Remote" Paradigm of Learning.

I normally use this blog to share data and analysis about taxes and public funding, but this is a more personal post. We are nearly a month into isolating at home and I wanted to share some reflections on education in ...

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What Investing in Jersey City Public Schools Looks Like for 2020/21

On Wednesday March 18th, Superintendent Walker proposed a budget that significantly increases local investment in our public schools. The budget includes a $64 million school levy increase, which represents a 47% increase over last year’s levy. Mayor Fulop “blasted” the ...

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Value & Empower Our Public Schools By Locally Funding Them in the 2020 Schools Budget

Helpful Tips: Thank you to the PTA of Dr. Michael Conti PS #5 School for this information & advocacy. We are asking all concerned parents, residents, and taxpayers who care about our public schools to send an email to the ...

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