What takeovers do, however, is take away autonomy from voters to decide how their districts will function. When it was said that residents were out of control, the police department was replaced, against the will of the people. While the debate continues, recent studies and outbreaks show that schoolchildren, even younger ones, can play a significant role in spreading infections. Sign-up for our free weekly e-mail newsletter. Currently three schools—Cooper’s Poynt Family School, Ulysses S. Wiggins Family School, and Harry C. Sharp Elementary School—are slated to be closed. He spent 6 years teaching in charter schools in Camden, New Jersey. It was said previously by then-governor Chris Christie and former Camden mayor Dana Redd that a takeover of the school district would put the city on the right path, but research shows that school district takeovers don’t improve school districts. But also, charter schools in the city suspend students more often than public schools in the district. Her plan includes closing Sharp Elementary, Wiggins College Preparatory Lab School, Cramer Elementary, and Yorkship Elementary. It is no surprise, then, that it was announced in November that more schools will soon close. Enrollment in district-run schools has declined by … In doing so, the state has put the Camden City School District in a precarious position. You don’t support students by closing their schools; you support them by improving those schools. Ohio becomes the first state to announce a statewide closing. Local advocates of the bill often extol data showing that charters in the city outperform district schools. Yet the city of New Orleans, where public schools were replaced by charters in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is an example of why this is a bad idea. March 12: The first state closes schools. Positive Rate Tops 9% The teachers’ union wants schools to shut again if the rate of positive virus tests keeps rising. Due to … The Urban Hope Act was branded as the mechanism to improve education in Camden, but all it signaled was a changing of the guard. In 2013, Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago initiated the closing of 54 public schools. If this sort of “competition” is so good, why don’t I see it in predominantly white neighborhoods? Certainly, Camden public schools have challenges and areas to improve upon. But where’s the competition when you close the only neighborhood district school in a community of charter schools, as is the case with Cooper’s Poynt School in North Camden? Yet the city of New Orleans, where public schools were replaced by charters in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is an example of why this is a bad idea. MILWAUKEE (January 26, 2021) — Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) weather closing update. Peoria Unified School District closing 9 schools on Monday due to lack of staffing Pinal County teachers line up to get the COVID-19 vaccine SUSD pushes back … In a school in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, a teacher holds an online class. Photo by wakandapix, courtesy of Pixabay. Christian schools can still meet remotely, just like public schools. But at what cost? Nashville School Board Chair Enjoyed St. Lucia Before Closing Schools by Joe Kinsey January 18, 2021, 10:21 am updated January 18, 2021, 10:33 am 4 Comments Parents of students in the Metro Nashville Public Schools system have hit their breaking point after Friday’s decision to continue virtual learning after MLK Day . Since 2014, and up to today, Camden schools are being replaced with privately operated schools with little to no local input. And I suspect even more school closures will follow; the handwriting is on the wall. https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-schools-are-closing-again-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601. How parents feel about the prospect of England's schools closing again With coronavirus cases surging, scientists are urging a delay to the start of the new term Coronavirus – latest updates The state of New Jersey effectively gave away Camden schools to charter management organizations. Certainly, Camden public schools have challenges and areas to improve upon. And that matters for Black students. Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State has on Friday dumped the option of closing down schools as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ganduje said the closure of schools … If this sort of “competition” is so good, why don’t I see it in predominantly white neighborhoods? Schools have represented one of the most contentious issues of the pandemic given the possible long-term impact of closures on children and the economic fallout from parents being forced to stay home. In New Jersey, as well as in other states, a state takeover of a public school district is when the state executive branch takes control of academic, administrative and financial functions of that district.The local school board becomes an advisory board and the state selects the superintendent. It was said that the Urban Hope Act, a statewide bill from 2012 that allows certain public school districts to form contracts with nonprofit entities like charter management organizations, would put Camden on the right path, but it hasn’t. Closures have been announced recently in the U.K., Germany, Ireland, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands on concerns about a more infectious variant of the virus first detected in the U.K. and rising case counts despite lockdowns. A: Proactive school closures—closing schools before there’s a case there—have been shown to be one of the most powerful nonpharmaceutical interventions that … It is no coincidence that takeovers tend to happen in Black and brown communities; I guess Camden residents should be happy with winning back the ability to elect the school district advisory board. Student and teacher protests. Sadly, school closure announcements in the city of Camden, New Jersey, are all too common. “In the second wave we acquired much more evidence that schoolchildren are almost equally, if not more infected by SARS-CoV-2 than others,“ said Antoine Flahault, director of the University of Geneva’s Institute of Global Health. When state lawmakers decided in 2002 that the city couldn’t handle its own affairs as a municipality, Camden was taken over by the state. “We have a responsibility to save lives,” Gov. Rann Miller directs the 21st Century Community Learning Center, a federally funded after-school program located in southern New Jersey. While the goal of these closures among school district officials and policymakers is to improve the educational opportunities of Camden children, the current course for achieving that goal is the wrong one. Considering the COVID surges in just about every state, which are expected to increase even more with the holiday season coming up, this order is the responsible approach to the pandemic. The Progressive Inc. publishes The Progressive magazine plus Progressive.org and Public School Shakedown. So-called Reformers and charter advocates speak of the need for competition. The strategy of closing schools amid rising covid-19 rates in the United States is in contrast to Europe, where cases are soaring and countries are closing or … Of the underutilized schools, 116 are more than 50 percent empty; 77 of those are more than 70 percent empty. Fight Over Closing Schools Reignites as N.Y.C. My guess is the state would never dare take the autonomy from white people as to how and where their children are educated, even though Black and Afro-Latinx folks aren’t extended that right. You don’t support students by closing their schools; you support them by improving those schools. The district said it could save $28 million over 10 years by closing the four schools. The UNICEF chief highlighted that the cost of closing schools has been devastating, with 90 per cent of students globally facing shutdowns at the peak of the COVID disruptions last year, leaving more than a third of schoolchildren with no access to remote education. In Camden, New Jersey, an effort to replace public schools with charter academies highlights the state’s failure to educate Black and Latinx students. Of the 54 public schools to be closed were 53 elementary schools and one high school. There are some that believe that an all-charter district is a better alternative to a traditional public system. You don’t support students by closing their schools; you support them by improving those schools. The Camden City School District has the fifth highest percentage of Black teachers in the state of New Jersey among public school districts. Europe Europe’s Schools Are Closing Again on Concerns They Spread Covid-19 Countries are abandoning pledges to keep classrooms open as concerns mount over children’s capacity to … Anything less is an evasion of the state’s duty to educate Black and Latinx children. But taking away the opportunity of the residents and their school to build on the hard work of educators and students is a slap in the face to the educators, students, and families of Camden. BERLIN—As U.S. authorities debate whether to keep schools open, a consensus is emerging in Europe that children are a considerable factor in the spread of Covid-19—and more countries are shutting schools for the first time since the spring. This is an important message from Milwaukee Public Schools. What “choice” do parents have in this community other than to bus their children outside of their neighborhood? One month after the St. Louis Public Schools superintendent asked for alternatives to closing 11 schools, no solid plan has emerged to bring in the needed students or dollars to keep them open. What takeovers do, however, is take away autonomy from voters to decide how their districts will function. Camden is one of four school districts in New Jersey that were previously or are currently under state control. © 2021 • The Progressive Inc. • 30 West Mifflin Street, Suite 703 • Madison, Wisconsin 53703 • (608)257-4626. 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