Jessie Gómez

Jessie Gómez

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.

Advocates warn that transferring federal special education oversight to another department could weaken enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and other disability rights laws, while jeopardizing funding, research, and implementation.

At just 23, Arts High School alum David Daughety is among the youngest candidates elected to the Newark Board of Education after the district returned to local control in 2018.

As of 9:17 p.m. on Tuesday, incumbent Kanileah Anderson and her running mates Louis Maisonave Jr. and David Daughety appeared headed to victory.

Essex County officials said 1,772 teens have registered to vote in the historic April 15 school board election but that number leaves out thousands of teens who were eligible.

Newark educators and labor unions gathered on Tuesday to protest looming federal funding cuts and warn about their impacts on education, research, and health.

Summer programs are open to all students living in Newark and includes enrichment activities, specialized programs for high schoolers, and mandatory academic programs.

Newark Public School leaders said the biggest expenses are district salaries, payments to charter schools, and rising costs due to enrollment. They are budgeting conservatively in light of potential changes to federal funding, district leaders say.

Newark Public Schools high school students took part in a football-themed youth mental health summit that provided participants with strategies to tackle mental health challenges for themselves and their peers.

Gov. Phil Murphy, Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, and others attended Newark’s School of Data Science and Information Technology to fire up young voters for the April 15 school board election.

During a forum hosted by the Newark NAACP, candidates answered questions about district policies, the board’s role in holding the superintendent accountable, and district funds.