To: Chris Christie, Cami Anderson, and Christopher Cerf
Tell Chris Christie and His Schoolyard Bullies that Education Workers Are Critical to the Future ...
I stand with Newark students, parents and residents and our demand that Chris Christie, Christopher Cerf & Cami Anderson respect the seniority, dedication and commitment of teachers & education workers to the future of our city!
Why is this important?
Cami Anderson, the Christie-appointed Superintendent of Newark Public Schools, is escalating her attack on OUR public schools. This time she is attempting to further destabilize schools and neighborhoods by destroying the relationships between students and our teachers - dedicated teachers that we rely on to help build a strong foundation for our future.
Cami is requesting permission from state Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf to use a “waiver or equivalency” to fire hundreds of education workers with no consideration for seniority or tenure. Yes, this shreds the basic rights of union workers, but in the teaching profession it also hurts students like us who rely on stable relationships with experienced and professional school staff. Research proves that high turnover rates in schools hurt students, especially the children of working class families who are already economically disadvantaged. And let us be clear, Anderson’s One Newark plan and her attack on Newark’s public schools disproportionately targets low-income, working-class communities and communities of color.
Anderson desperately needs this waiver to remove tenured teachers so she can fill a $100 million budget shortfall over the next three years that SHE CREATED by hiring hundreds of inexperienced TFA teachers to push older, higher paid teachers out of their schools, and by promoting the expansion of charter schools that funnel money out of traditional public schools. She figures that if she can get rid of the highest paid education workers – who earned that higher pay through years of dedicated work on behalf of our fellow students, then she can fill much of that budget gap, AND eliminate unionized workers at the same time. Her Christie-appointed colleague, Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf, is expected to approve her request…just days before he leaves his post on March 5th. How convenient.
As students in Newark Public Schools, our teachers influence and support extends far beyond what is in text books. Our teachers and school staff have spent countless hours of their lives advising, teaching, and simply talking with us during our lunchtimes, after school, at sporting events, plays, concerts, college days, and MANY other school related activities.
The proof of their work is clearly evident in all of the data. Newark Public Schools met the standards for gaining local control from the nearly two-decade long occupation set by the state QSAC rubric, a measure established by the state to protect their control over our schools. After meeting those standards the state moved the goal post in order to maintain control and prevent Newark’s communities from having a voice in our schools. It is clear that Christie’s control over our schools is not out of concern for academic achievement or student success – it is an attack on Newark’s working-class communities and an effort to turn public money and public necessities into private profit.
Anderson has a vision for Newark’s schools. Privatize the system, socialize the costs, and subject students to inexperienced Teach For America (TFA) teachers working for poverty wages under dictatorial conditions. This is not fair to dedicated teachers who have given decades of their lives to Newark’s students. This is not fair to us - the students - who rely on their training, knowledge and experience as teachers and educators to help us build the foundations we need in our lives to be successful. This is not fair to Newark’s communities, to our city or to our future.
Kristin Towcaniuk & Jelani Walker
Newark Students Union & NJ Communities United Members
Cami is requesting permission from state Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf to use a “waiver or equivalency” to fire hundreds of education workers with no consideration for seniority or tenure. Yes, this shreds the basic rights of union workers, but in the teaching profession it also hurts students like us who rely on stable relationships with experienced and professional school staff. Research proves that high turnover rates in schools hurt students, especially the children of working class families who are already economically disadvantaged. And let us be clear, Anderson’s One Newark plan and her attack on Newark’s public schools disproportionately targets low-income, working-class communities and communities of color.
Anderson desperately needs this waiver to remove tenured teachers so she can fill a $100 million budget shortfall over the next three years that SHE CREATED by hiring hundreds of inexperienced TFA teachers to push older, higher paid teachers out of their schools, and by promoting the expansion of charter schools that funnel money out of traditional public schools. She figures that if she can get rid of the highest paid education workers – who earned that higher pay through years of dedicated work on behalf of our fellow students, then she can fill much of that budget gap, AND eliminate unionized workers at the same time. Her Christie-appointed colleague, Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf, is expected to approve her request…just days before he leaves his post on March 5th. How convenient.
As students in Newark Public Schools, our teachers influence and support extends far beyond what is in text books. Our teachers and school staff have spent countless hours of their lives advising, teaching, and simply talking with us during our lunchtimes, after school, at sporting events, plays, concerts, college days, and MANY other school related activities.
The proof of their work is clearly evident in all of the data. Newark Public Schools met the standards for gaining local control from the nearly two-decade long occupation set by the state QSAC rubric, a measure established by the state to protect their control over our schools. After meeting those standards the state moved the goal post in order to maintain control and prevent Newark’s communities from having a voice in our schools. It is clear that Christie’s control over our schools is not out of concern for academic achievement or student success – it is an attack on Newark’s working-class communities and an effort to turn public money and public necessities into private profit.
Anderson has a vision for Newark’s schools. Privatize the system, socialize the costs, and subject students to inexperienced Teach For America (TFA) teachers working for poverty wages under dictatorial conditions. This is not fair to dedicated teachers who have given decades of their lives to Newark’s students. This is not fair to us - the students - who rely on their training, knowledge and experience as teachers and educators to help us build the foundations we need in our lives to be successful. This is not fair to Newark’s communities, to our city or to our future.
Kristin Towcaniuk & Jelani Walker
Newark Students Union & NJ Communities United Members