The New Jersey Education Association is rolling out its education reform agenda, asking legislators to act in the upcoming “lame duck” session to pass comprehensive research-based reform.
Beginning with a Star Ledger op-ed on Nov. 6 by NJEA President Barbara Keshishian calling for an overhaul of New Jersey’s tenure and evaluation systems, NJEA is publicly calling for a broad range of education reforms designed to improve student achievement.
“No one has more invested in the success of our students and our public schools than NJEA members,” said Keshishian. “We understand that great teachers are critical to great public schools. That’s why our plan includes an improved evaluation system that helps identify teachers who are succeeding and those who are struggling. And if struggling teachers are unable to improve their performance, NJEA’s fair dismissal tenure plan makes it easier for districts to remove them.”
“But we also know that teachers are not the only factor in student success,” continued Keshishian. “That is why our plan contains other proven reforms, including wider access to preschool, full-day kindergarten for all students and smaller class sizes in the early grades. We also call for legislation to help increase parental involvement. Research proves that these things boost student achievement, so they must be part of any true education reform agenda.”
The next step: pairing NJEA’s proposals with legislative sponsors.
“In the coming weeks, we will work with public education supporters in the Legislature to introduce and pass bills to implement these proven, common-sense reforms,” said Keshishian.
“Our members are committed to making New Jersey’s public schools the very best they can be, and to protecting them from those who think that every problem in education can be solved just by testing students more often, or giving up on public education and turning schools over to the private, for-profit sector.”