NKIRUKA UMEGBOLU, DAUGHTER OF CELINE UMEGBOLU (CLEVELAND SCHOOL) AND FAMILY. NKIRUKA WAS THE RECIPIENT OF THE SENATOR RONALD L. RICE AWARD.

VAILSBURG HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI - 1st Annual Barbeque



View event flyer here

AFT New Jersey consists of four New Jersey American Federation of Teachers representative units. They are: Council of New Jersey State College Locals (CNJSCL), Health Professional and Allied Professions (HPAE), and the New Jersey State Federation of Teachers(NJSFT). AFT-NJ represents the interests of its constituent organizations and the American Federation of Teachers in New Jersey and at the National level.

In light of the uncertainty surrounding pending changes in legislation which could affect retirement benefits, the Newark Public Schools has agreed to waive retirement notification requirements for all employees between now and June 30, 2010.  This waiver represents a one-time concession for this year only and will apply only to those employees who elect to retire on or before July 1, 2010.

This email is being sent on behalf of Laurette K. Asante, Esq. Director, Office of Labor and Employee Relations

Please be advised that letters will be mailed April 21, 2010, to all "provisional" employees who will be terminated as a result of budget cuts. The effective date of said termination is May 7, 2010.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Dr. Anne Miller, Executive Director of Human Resource Services.

NTU letter to Dr. Janey regarding next years budget

NTU letter to Dr. Janey regarding Special Education

- NEW, INNOVATIVE FEDERALLY FUNDED URBAN TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAM AVAILABLE

- NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOL AND MONTCLAIR STATE UNIVERSITY PARTNER

   TO PREPARE THE TEACHER NEWARK NEEDS.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION… 

NTU Members, download and view the PDF’s below:
2010 Spring Workshops Brochure

2010 Ed Conference Cancellations-Spring Workshops

What the health & pension benefits bill means – and what it doesn’t
Download Q & A sheet here

PIF - APPLICATION FOR ALLOTMENT FROM THE PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENT FUND-/NEWAK TEACHERS UNION
(PENDING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS) View application here

PIF - INSTRUCTIONS FOR OBTAINING A PROFESSIONAL DAY
WITH NO MONEY REIMBURSEMENT TO ATTEND EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP View instructions here

2009 NTU Bulletin Board Contest. And the winners are...

Maral Ingui & Lesia Kuziw
Speedway Avenue School
West Region Winner

Danielle L. Gaines
Miller Street Academy
South Region Winner

Brenda Valera
McKinley School
North Region Winner

Jill Annesi & Jazleen Othman
Wilson Avenue School
East/Central Region Winner

Read more on the winners here

Your Guide to Family Leave Insurance in New Jersey

Take the next step toward becoming a school principal or supervisor.  Seton Hall University's nationally recognized "Grow Your Own" education leadership program is coming to Newark Public Schools.

Download Program Flyer here
Download Program Information here

ATTENTION TEACHERS: GRADES 3, 4, and 5
FREE Educational materials for your Elementary School Students dealing with English, Creative Writing, etc.
View details here

NTU ROLLS OUT A BOLD UNION INITIATIVE…
In the schools’ presence making a positive, direct impact!

DelGrosso, President and Petino, Executive Director recently implemented another service to support NTU members on the job in challenging school settings. Utilizing retired members with over 25 years or more experience in the district, these Rep Liaisons have been assigned to support Building Reps in their roles as extensions of the NTU organization as well as NTU members. In addition, the Rep Liaisons have been holding Building Rep elections and meeting with Administrators to ensure that contract provisions are adhered to. 

Presently, there are five Rep Liaisons who are under the direction of Pietro Petino. They have been handling hot issues around the district and are a visible reminder to Administrators and NTU members that the NTU will be there to protect and support teachers, aides and clerks.

The Rep Liaisons are John Alvino (jalvino@ntuaft.com), Carolyn Battaglini (cbattaglini@ntuaft.com), Gerald Battaglini (gbattaglini@ntuaft.com), Sharif Farrakhan (sfarrakhan@ntuaft.com) and Claudia Milder (cmilder@ntuaft.com). The Rep Liaisons are another NTU service to members in addition to the information and resources available on the NTU web site, NTU chat room and NTU blogs. Any questions or additional information can be sent to Pietro Petino at ppetino@ntuaft.com. 

Claudia Milder

Carolyn Battaglini

Sharif Farrakhan

Gerald Battaglini

John Alvino

HELP WANTED ² - “READ A BOOK TO A CHILD” CAMPAIGN

Joseph Del Grosso, NTU President & Dr. Clifford Janey, NPS Superintendent will designate the upcoming months as the on-going collaboration dedicated to Literacy and Newark’s Children. Both educational leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the students of Newark at the Newark Teachers Union Hall of Fame and Shanker Scholarship Dinner at the Mayfair Farms.  

Joseph Del Grosso highlighted the importance of Reading during his presidential address as he asked that each scholarship recipient take a book home and read to a student to promote the campaign’s message. Michele Corbo, Ed Issues Director placed reading books at each dinner table for friends and family members to take home with them.

NTU Retiree Chapter Update

Congratulations and good luck to our new NTU Retiree officers for 2009-2011
President Peter Rubas, First Vice President Lester Fusco and Second Vice President Doris Nicholson. Also welcome aboard to Executive Board Members Pauline Mathis, Joan Smart and Louise Morrison.

Thanks to the retiring NTU Retiree officers for a job well done…William Green, Diane Guerino and Carol Cathey.

For more information on the these upcoming activities click here.

Michele Corbo
Director, Ed Issues Dept.
mcorbo@ntuaft.com
973-643-8430 x32

© Newark Teachers Union 2010

SIG FAQ’s and Article

Over the past several months, the NTU has received a number of calls regarding School Improvement Grants (SIG) and corresponding schools. This article was written to assist you in demystifying this process.

What are SIG funds?
In March, 2010, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that New Jersey schools were eligible to receive more than $66 million to turn around its persistently lowest achieving (PLA) schools through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program, based on competitive applications that demonstrate the: - greatest need for the funds and - strongest commitment to use the funds to provide adequate resources to raise the achievement of their students so as to enable the schools to make adequate yearly progress and exit improvement status. 

I’ve heard a lot about Tier I and Tier schools. What exactly does that mean? 
Tier I schools are any Title I schools that are the lowest achieving 5% of schools in the state based on proficiency (or in a high school that has a graduation rate below 60% over a number of years that is not captured within the lowest 5%).  A Tier II school is any secondary school that is a part of the lowest 5% of secondary schools (grades 9-12) in the state (or is high school that has a graduation rate below 60% over a number of years that is not captured within the lowest 5%).

Does Newark Public Schools have any state identified Tier I and Tier II schools? If so, which are they?  NPS has 10 of the 32 identified PLAs in the state, identified in the chart below:

What options were available to these schools through SIG funds? School districts applied to the state for SIG funds to be used in Tier I and Tier II schools to implement one of four federal school intervention models: turnaround model, restart model, school closure, or transformation model. Below is a brief description of each:  - TURNAROUND MODEL: Replace the principal, screen existing school staff, and rehire no more than 50% of the teachers; adopt a new governance structure; and improve the school through curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.  - RESTART MODEL: Convert a school or close it and re-open it as a charter school or under an education management organization.  - SCHOOL CLOSURE: Close the school and send the students to higher-achieving schools in the district.  - TRANSFORMATION MODEL: Replace the principal and improve the school through comprehensive curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies. 

Who selected which intervention model for each school?  The NPS was charged with selecting the model with input from stakeholders. Although the Newark Public Schools has hosted community meetings, the NTU’s believes that the process has been exclusionary and not at all transparent. In addition, although the NTU supported the need to apply for the SIG grants, we had no involvement in selecting the models nor writing the applications. 

Which Newark Schools were awarded the SIG grants, for how much over the 3-year period and which intervention models were selected? 
The following chart depicts this information:

What has the NTU being doing?

Download the entire SIG article and FAQs

Cartoon Corner by AFT.org

Find Your School (click map)

Convenient and affordable dentistry and eye care for the Newark Teachers Union whom we have been treating for over 30 years.

Amalgamated Dental
Amalgamated Eyes

NTU Kudos
The NTU wants to recognize members’ accomplishments, awards and special projects in and out of the classroom.  Send us your photos and stories using an upload utility. We will gladly “sing your praises” on the NTU Web Site.  For more information, visit the kudos page or you can email the NTU at webmaster@ntuaft.com

Onsite Mentor Program
Come meet our veteran teachers who are ready to help answer your concerns and make your teaching experience easier.
No Appointments Necessary - Located at NTU Offices.

Ed Issues Dept launches Mentor Program via email for new Teachers...  Looking for practical, survival tips in navigating your day to day professional and personal demands and challenges?  Now you can reach out to our veteran teacher staff 24/7 via email when it is convenient for you.

To work with a veteran mentor in:
k-4 area, click here.....
5-8 area, click here.....
9-12 area, click here.....
Special Ed area, click here.....