Jessie Gomez
Reporter, Chalkbeat Newark
Jessie Gomez is a Reporter at Chalkbeat Newark covering Newark Public Schools. She is a proud Latina and first-generation college student with experience covering local communities and Black and Latino communities. Jessie was previously a reporter at The Record/Northjersey.com covering Morris and Bergen County communities in New Jersey. Before that, Jessie had a one-year fellowship at MuckRock, a non-profit news site based in Boston, focused on public records law and FOIA work. Jessie also has experience in political communications, broadcast and digital media.
State test results for the city’s public schools show scores grew by 2 percentage points in math and English language arts this year.
The report, conducted by CREED Strategies, reveals the cultural problems at the Newark School of Global Studies after incidents of racial harassment surfaced last fall.
Shuffling of leaders leaves a vacant seat on the board, just ahead of key planning meeting.
Gateway U’s Teacher Pathway Program helps local school staff take steps to become eligible for full-time teaching positions.
Board president Asia Norton publicly announced her resignation in a Facebook post on Monday.
The federal grant, known as Project AWARE, will support Newark in promoting healthy social and emotional learning environments and prevent violence in schools.
Studies have shown Newark is one of the hottest cities in the nation. With temperatures soaring into the 90s, parents are raising concerns about inoperable water fountains and no air conditioning systems in schools.
As Newark students return to class, officials are hoping summer initiatives such as high-dosage tutoring aimed at helping those who have fallen behind will improve student performance this school year.
Shabazz’s firm, Legacy Inc., “Everybody Has One,” was awarded an extra $200,000 to provide additional support for students participating in study abroad programs.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights reviewed 80 complaints of sexual harassment across city public schools and found some were not investigated.
The Newark Board of Education delayed its plan to hire a board attorney before the start of the school year to better understand the function of an attorney for the nine-member school board.
Two former teachers at the Newark School of Global Studies felt their “worth as a teacher and human being has been diminished” after experiencing harassment and racial hostility by students and supervisors last school year, according to legal claims.
On Thursday morning, teachers greeted students with hugs and high fives and volunteers from other KIPP New Jersey schools welcomed students getting off yellow school buses.
El distrito realiza esfuerzos de reclutamiento para atraer maestros de diversos orígenes.
This school year, roughly 6,900 students are enrolled for preschool with no waitlist – an increase over last year’s 6,600 students, the district said.
New Jersey students of color shared the impact of attending schools that did not reflect their cultural backgrounds and the challenges they faced.
New Jersey students took the state’s standardized test last spring. The scores pointed to the severity of the pandemic on student learning and the efforts Newark leaders must take to recover from it.
Demographic data show some positive trends that the workforce reflects the student body in some schools.
This year’s reorganization reflects previous efforts to create pipelines to leadership roles and elevate people of color into leadership positions.
Mayor Ras Baraka announced his 10-point Youth Literacy Action Plan, which calls on the city’s schools, parents, community partners, and programs to get young children reading and writing amid low state test scores last spring.
During a press conference on Thursday, Superintendent Roger León said Newark schools received a draft report of the review, which will help the district design a strategy to tackle racial issues among city schools.
The new health center opening comes at a time when a number of Newark families have limited access to medical services and experience barriers to health care.
As the school year ends, mothers of students with disabilities want a better academic year for their kids despite looming concerns about their child’s physical and educational progress.
The nine-member board approved a resolution to hire its own attorney in January after questions about the board’s legal authority came to light.
The National Council on Teacher Quality report analyzed 10 college and university programs in New Jersey, although another 13 programs in the state did not participate. Some experts have previously questioned the organization’s methodology.
Air quality conditions in New Jersey improved on Friday prompting students to return to school.
New Jersey school districts are canceling outdoor activities in response to the unhealthy air conditions caused by wildfire smoke from Canada entering the area.
The number of students in need of summer school increased this year partly because of state standardized test scores that showed Newark students scoring low in math and reading, the district said.
In March, the Newark Board of Education filed an appeal over the state’s decision to approve North Star Academy’s charter school expansion, one of the largest charter school networks in the city with six elementary, six middle, and two high schools.
As security surveillance technology evolves in schools, experts say oversight and community discussions of its implementation should grow too.