Baseless and Shameful. A new Low.

This suit shows they are not working in the best interests
of the children.

Have you seen what Sangeeta Ranade, Jessica Daye and
and I look like? Baseless drivel using racist allegations and children to
divide and conquer.

Where are Felicia's kids going to school? Are they even going to school in
Jersey City?

JC Residents, teachers and all.
Show them you are smarter than this.
Vote 2H 6H and 8H in force.

Bertram

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well, there are many parents who don't/can't read to their children everyday...but they make sure their kids have the latest most expensive version of nike sneakers. enuff said.

All energy should be focused on getting families aware of the program and apply, if that is the concern, suing the district on this is such a waste of energy and tax payer dollars!

Under the previous Superintendent, Dr Epps, there was no lottery to enter into the dual language program and no sibling preference policy. Subjective interviews were the way to enter the program. Those with resources and knowhow were more likely to get in this way.
The current superintendent, Dr Lyles, implemented a lottery should more applicants apply than spaces available. She also implemented a sibling policy across the board, not just for Dual Language students. The process is far more equitable now than it has ever been. I agree with the comment made earlier though, more families, especially low income ones have to be made aware of how to apply to all programs and also be motivated to apply, it's not an easy sell but the district has to keep trying.

they should just rezone that school to downtown only, the rating will go from 3 to 8-9 in a few years.

I am going to repost what I put elsewhere. Because the Children's First Team cynical manipulation of the dual language program is a new low.

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Sigh....it really is unfortunate that an effective and popular program is being subjected to political games.

A little background is helpful. The dual language program is a citywide program. Families from any school zone can apply. It is supposed to have 50% English and 50% Spanish speakers in each class. That way the kids learn from each other.

In the past, the school would set up interviews for each family to make sure they were committed to the program. The interview consisted of questions like "Do you read to your kids every night?" "Are you willing to stay through 5th grade?" "Would you be willing to help out?" I'm not sure how anyone could give the wrong answer to such questions.

Dual language became very popular. In part because of the learning model, and at P.S. 3 in particular because it was one of the few schools citywide that had pre-K 3 classes of any type. So families that wanted to get a pre-K spot in a school, as opposed to a child care center, had an obvious interest in applying to P.S. 3's dual language.

Having attended the dual language information sessions at the school, I can also say that the P.S. 3 administration explicitly used dual language as a tool to recruit parents to the school. There was a lot of talk about how it was "better than a charter" and how well the students did on the state mandated standardized tests.

The problem really came to a head 2 years ago, when the program was deluged with applications. The district had 3 dual language sections the year before, and had initially cut it back to 2. Remember that by law, you can only have 15 kids in a pre-K section. So you had somewhere over 100 applications for 30 spots.

The interim-superintendent Walker, on the eve of the school year, made the strange decision to increase the number of dual language sections from 2 to 5. This satisfied the immediate demand, but created a major problem. There was not a 50-50 ratio of English to Spanish speakers. And the sudden increase in dual language students meant less resources for the regular mono-lingual pre-K.

After that year, Lyles became superintendent. Despite the program's popularity, she made some common sense changes to it. The number of sections was cut back. The interview was dispensed with, with a lottery system in its place. And dual language at P.S. 3 started at Pre-K 4, rather than Pre-K 3. Although there may be some advantage to getting kids to learn a second language earlier, this put P.S. 3 in line with the other schools, and prevented parents from trying to grab a dual language spot for the sole purpose of getting a pre-K 3 spot.

The district does have sibling preference, not just for dual language but for siblings in any school. This is to make sure that families don't have to raise kids in different programs, or send kids to different schools.

Ultimately, requesting records for a pre-K 4 class in isolation is not going to show anything meaningful, but it does help a ticket's campaign narrative of "the other guys are only for the rich!"

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I'm just taking a guess, but it could be because you have to apply for them and take time to make sure you get to the school and stand in line and get your kid on the list. Affluent parents are more likely to have heard of the classes and more likely to take the time and effort to sign their kids up.

That doesn't absolve the schools of any responsibility, they should work to make sure that everyone knows about the opportunity and make it is easy to apply as possible.

Quote:i am not sure of the mechanics of gettinto special classes but there could be factors beyond race and income as to why there are not more black and hispanic chilldren in these classes

Great day to read what has been going on in JCPS District.

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/author/cneidenberg/page/3/

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... ween-board-members-state/

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... -at-first-public-meeting/


http://www.bluejersey.com/tag/Chris%20Neidenberg


http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... by_cerf.html#incart_river

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... lic_comment_policies.html

http://www.jcea.org/source4teachers.html

http://www.jcea.org/Breakfast-After-The-Bell.html

http://www.jcea.org/Students--Records-Slip-Away.html

This is pure theater.

Desperate nonsense from a slate that has no real interest in better schools...

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That's why we have the option of private school education - discrimination against struggling families doesn't mean their kids should be regarded and treated as second class citizens - it's discrimination anyway you look at it.

A public education should never discriminate - the private education can discriminate via socioeconomic means; school fees

i agree that segregation is bad....but if white, elitist parents make sure that their children get the grades to get into elite programs whose fault is that, especially in public schools.just look at the elite nyc public high schools (mostly white, asian based on test scores)

if poor parents are not going to make sure that their chlldren study so that they are competitive and can get into good programs, then they should shut up.

i am all for affirmative action, but even in colleges, all students have to perform (unless, of course, you are a good sports player who performs on the field)

Segregation is a polite way of not saying discrimination - this is another reason why 'good intentioned' parents should never be allowed on the DoE board.

We need an impartial board who's sole and only focus is centered around providing a great educational experience for ALL kids.

This is just another UGLY side of gentrification - public schools are for the general public and if this article suggests that white collar elitist parents want to manipulate the system for their own gains and the gains of their children, then shame on them

interesting article. i think all children should have good opportunities, but let's face it if one comes from an upper income family (black, white, hispanic, asian) then the parents are more likely to have the intellect , drive and support system/ ecosystem to help their children seize opportunities.....as for the poor, just watch jerry springer and you can see that many of these people (who an barely speak proper english) hardly have any interest in having their children do well in school. sad, but true

A lawsuit, filed early this month by The Children First team (seek link to PDF file below) seeks to identify racial and economic segregation within Jersey City Public Schools, starting with the Frank R. Conwell PS#3 primary school in downtown Jersey City where there appears to be division between the poor black and Hispanic students and white, upper income students in the Prek Dual-Language Program.

Observers report that on the school?s first floor, where the Dual-Language Prek classes neighbor the non-Dual-Language/General Prek classes, the disparity can be clearly seen with the majority of Black/Hispanic students in Non-Dual Language/General classrooms.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Children First Team by Open Public Records Act (OPRA) attorney, Walter Luers, Esq, who is also a board member of the advocacy group, New Jersey for Open Government (NJFOG). The suit demands "Free & Reduced Meal" application data from the Jersey City Board of Education in order to glean the racial and economic breakdown of Prek-4 classes at PS#3 for the past three years. Children who are ?Approved? for free or reduced meals are classified as low income or poverty whereas those who were ?Denied? are deemed upper income. The applications also indicate the student's race.

Initial reports collected by Children First indicate an economic disparity as much as 70% upper income to 30% low income in Prek 4 classes in PS#3 during the 2013-2014 school year. This year, Children First has learned that in one Dual-Language class, only a single student out of fifteen (15) is classified as low income/poverty. Meanwhile, the majority of students in neighboring non-Dual-Language/General prek classes are classified as low income/poverty.

The Dual-Language program at PS#3 has become a highly competitive program for downtown parents seeking the opportunity for their children to benefit from small classes and a Spanish-English learning environment. There are typically only 15-30 spots available each year with four to five times as many applicants. However, applications have declined in recent years as parents complained the district does a poor job of informing them how and when to apply to the program.

Children First has also learned of complaints of unfair sibling preferences in the program. Last year, spots were awarded first to siblings of children already in the program, though there is no official ?sibling policy? in the district according to the Early Childhood Department. This practice resulted in very few non-siblings accessing the program, further exacerbating the racial and income divide in the school's Prek population.

The lawsuit is pending a court date.

Current board members, Sangeeta Ranade, Jessica Daye and Bertraum Okpokwasili (currently running for school board) all have children in the Dual-Language Program at School #3. Board member Ellen Simon has a child in the Dual-Language program at PS#5.

The Children First Team of Gina Verdibello (5H), Lorenzo Richardson (1H) and Gerald Lyons (7H) believe that ALL children are entitled to a quality education -- regardless of income, race or class. As board members, they will be committed to advocate for balanced and equal access to advanced and specialized programs for students across the city. Vote on November 4th for Gina Verdibello (5H), Lorenzo Richadson (1H) and Gerald Lyons (7H) for Jersey City Board of Education.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9tju ... WUXp6OVE/view?usp=sharing