Jersey Jazzman

Some recent stories I've been thinking about (all emphases mine). Tennessee : > Gov. Bill Lee’s administration is getting pushback in Memphis on > new Tennessee restrictions tha...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2021/08/on-remote-teaching-and-learning-in.html

In the decade I've been writing this blog, I've seen some really horrible behavior towards teachers (a prime example here ). But I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this : This is ...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2021/05/lakewood-nj-where-public-schools-are.html

I'll get back to Lakewood in a bit, but I want to take a minute and talk about a new report out yesterday from JerseyCAN and others about learning loss and COVID-19. Regular readers know I've ...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2021/03/covid-and-learning-loss-test-scores.html

 Here are the other parts of this series: - Part I - Part II What happens when a majority of citizens rejects its own public schools? We need look no further than Lakewood, NJ -- a town ...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2021/03/lakewood-nj-where-public-schools-are_18.html

Here's Part I of this series. In this series, I'm taking a look at Lakewood, NJ, with an eye toward what might happen if more communities abandon their public schools and, instead, embrace the...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2021/03/lakewood-nj-where-public-schools-are.html

If you follow K12 policy, you've probably noticed that the school privatization crowd has recently become reenergized. The folks from right-wing think tanks and the professional school "choice" p...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2021/03/lakewood-where-public-schools-are-left.html

UPDATE: Just as I was finishing this post, I caught a glimpse of this news : > The U.S. Department of Education extended flexibility to states > today in how and when they admin...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2021/02/we-dont-need-standardized-testing-in.html

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably noticed a few comments about a new report I have out with the Fordham Institute: Robbers or Victims? Charter Schools and District Finances . I'm putting ...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-fiscal-impact-of-charter-schools-on.html

The estimable Colleen O'Dea from NJ Spotlight News continues to do New Jersey a service by updating the data on school instructional models during the pandemic. I've been collecting her updates...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2021/02/january-2021-update-on-nj-covid-school.html

Earlier this year , I posted about the racial inequities in New Jersey's school reopening plans, which were all affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following that blog post, I used some updated da...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/12/new-jerseys-school-covid-19-operating.html

Most of what needs to be said about Donald Trump’s appalling performance last night has been said. But I want to quickly add two thoughts.  First, as an educator, I want to make sure we ackn...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/09/trump-and-christie-everything-teachers.html

Nothing makes me crazier than hacky discussions of tax and fiscal policy. And if you want the hackiest hacking about New Jersey's taxes, there's only one place to go: the Star-Ledger's opinion pa...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/09/correcting-hacks-on-nj-taxes.html

Most New Jersey school districts are starting the 2020-21 school year this week -- although the way they are starting varies quite a bit. This year, some districts are fully remote, while others ...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/09/racial-and-class-bias-in-new-jerseys.html

In the next week or so, schools districts all over the country will reopen their buildings as their new year begins. During our pre-service training, a teacher colleague of mine described the pro...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-school-reopening-gamble.html

Here in the Northeast, schools are getting ready to reopen in what can only be called a gigantic experiment in the middle of pandemic with a virus we barely understand. I'm going to say a few mor...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/08/state-aid-is-school-aid.html

In the past few weeks, a new literary genre has emerged in America's media outlets: the school reopening op-ed. Almost always written by someone who has little to no experience in actually workin...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/07/how-to-stop-magical-thinking-in-school.html

Earlier this week, the Sunshine Sunlight Policy Center put out a critique of my report , published by the New Jersey Policy Perspective, on the shrinking numbers of teacher candidates in prepara...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/07/a-response-to-critics-of-my-research-on.html

This post, unlike most of the others on this blog, does not rely on data analysis or research reviews. It is, instead, the observations of someone who has spent decades working in PreK-12 schools...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/04/how-schools-work-practical-guide-for.html

Several states, particularly in the Northeast, have begun releasing their plans to reopen K-12 schools. Connecticut, for example, just released a plan yesterday; New Jersey is scheduled to relea...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/06/what-actual-school-reopening-plan-looks.html

I’ve noticed a lot of back-and-forth recently on social media about education spending – specifically, on how spending has changed over the years in the United States. The usual context i...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/06/on-comparing-education-spending-across.html

Regardless of what happens next with Covid-19, it's clear that the budgets of states like New Jersey are in for a very, very tough time over the next few years. Governors and legislatures are goi...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/04/can-nj-afford-to-continue-subsidizing.html

I'll keep this short, I promise... Ten years ago, I found myself increasingly frustrated by the nonsense I kept reading and hearing about schools, teaching, and public finance. Here in New Je...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/03/ten-years-of-jersey-jazzman.html

ADDING: Here's another one for the list: I am against school vouchers, especially the way they are (not ) regulated these days. However, in a time of crisis, children need stability. If a family ...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/03/education-policies-we-should-stop-right.html

During yesterday's (insane ) news conference, Donald Tump made some news on the K-12 education front: > It’s official: U.S. students won't have to take annual state > tests this ...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/03/why-scrapping-school-testing-this-year.html

Just a quick note: At first, it seems kind of ridiculous to be blogging about education policy at a moment like this. I don't think we've had a national crisis of this magnitude since WWII. Why...

http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2020/03/edu-blogging-in-age-of-covid-19.html