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NJEA president Barbara Keshishian issued this statement following the New Jersey Supreme Court’s ruling today on the Abbott case:

“NJEA welcomes the Supreme Court’s decision in favor of the children in New Jersey’s public schools. While the decision does not restore the funding previously lost by schools or immediately undo all the damage caused by more than $1.3 billion in cuts, it begins the process of restoring our schools to fiscal health and reaffirms our state’s longstanding commitment to investing wisely in our children’s future.”

“While we are disappointed that the remedy ordered by the court only extends to children in the 31 Abbott districts, nothing in the ruling prevents the state from honoring the spirit of the ruling and restoring funding for all children in all public schools across the state.”

“We call on Gov. Christie and the Legislature to craft a budget that complies with the court’s ruling and the law, and which respects the educational needs of all New Jersey children. We also urge them to fund the education of students in all districts moving forward so that the state does not waste any more time or money defending the indefensible. Our children’s education is too important to be left to the whims of politics.”

This May our program was well represented at TCNJ graduation. Jessica Kerley, Kristina Avisado, and Kimberly Hart received their Master’s degrees and successfully completed the Urban Education Program. These three women are truly pioneers. They jumped in with both feet before while we were still building the program. Their committment to children and public schools is unwavering. All three of them completed impressive teacher research during student teaching, volunteered many hours to local schools and are poised to become great teachers.

Profiles of our graduates

Kimberly Hart, the very first person to ever land in my office with interest in this program, did a comprehensive case study of a student with selective mutism. Kristina Avisado, who was also the recipient of an outstanding student award from the Department of English as a Second Language, studied classroom management strategies in her classroom. And, Jessica Kerley, examined how valuing children’s local knowledge can positively impact her teaching.

This Summer

Next month, two more Urban Education students will study ESL in Mallorca, Spain. Beth Dorrity and Ruth Orama will be tackling two courses in the super intense and completely amazing global campus in Mallorca. We look forward to hearing about their experiences.

The New Jersey Supreme Court stood up for the state’s children and strongly rebuked Gov. Chris Christie when it ruled on Tuesday that his draconian school budget cuts violated the State Constitution by depriving impoverished children of an effective education.

In 2009, the state promised the court that it would adequately educate these children through a financing formula that guaranteed districts enough money to provide tutoring, counseling and services that high-risk students need to succeed at school. Mr. Christie sabotaged the plan last year when he vetoed a bill that would have raised revenue by taxing New Jersey’s wealthiest citizens. He then used the shortfall as an excuse to shortchange fair financing by about $1.6 billion, a cut of nearly 20 percent.

The cuts were disproportionately destructive for poorer districts that have weak tax bases and depend most heavily on state aid. Earlier this spring, a state court found that the cuts had already harmed disadvantaged children, placing them at an even greater risk of not meeting state standards.

In this latest, strongly worded ruling, the New Jersey Supreme Court admonished the state to put its house in order and reminded the governor and the Legislature that they were “not free to walk away from judicial orders enforcing Constitutional obligations.” Citing limited authority under the law, the court ordered the state to restore about $500 million to the 31 poorest districts covered in the long-running school financing case. The state is also required to ensure that adequate financing continues to flow as intended to these districts in future years.

Governor Christie, who suggested at one time that he would simply ignore this ruling, has apparently remembered his oath of office and says he will obey. That’s not enough. He and state lawmakers have a moral and legal obligation to do better, not just by the very poorest districts, but by the more than 200 districts being starved of the aid that they are legally entitled to and desperately need to educate their high-risk children.

Welcome to the central web site for Tabitha Dell’Angelo. From this portal you can find out information about teaching, research, and service. This includes information about the Urban Education Program, academic advising, and volunteer work including Children’s Yoga classes.