A Victory for Taxpayers-- But Is It Also The Return of Cami Anderson as Newark's Superintendent?

Earlier this month, I questioned the lack of actual learning time our students in Newark were receiving during COVID-19. Most of all, I pointed out that Newarkers are paying the same taxes, yet our kids in Newark's public school are receiving far less learning time.

I pointed out that parents in other cities were suing over this, but wanted to know where Newarkers could get their refund on lost learning time and who I should call. Roger Leon? John Abeigon? Randi Weingarten?

Like we saw with my last post about Superintendent Leon, he reacted almost immediately. Except this time he didn't call and threaten to sue me--he immediately moved to change the standards of virtual learning and increase instructional time for kids in a major way!

Victory, right? You'd think I'd be jumping for joy at this because it's a good call.

The problem is how he did it: a back-room decision that didn't engage parents and students in the process. 

Look at this petition from thousands of Newark high school students and allies. Once again, Newarkers are pushing back on Leon's way of doing things. As the petition states, it "is unfair for not thinking about how this decision made by a person who is not a student and does not understand our struggles will affect us. They took over without asking the students how we feel. They put aside our opinion and our rights to make decisions for the benefit of our well-being. They made a choice on our behalf without our consent and feelings in mind."

This isn't the only example. Leon shut down one of the highest performing district elementary schools without telling parents who chose them in the universal enrollment process just months before. Parents spoke out about the lack of transparency and inclusion at board meetings, but ultimately were ignored.

Leon also moved to make FAFSA a mandatory requirement for graduating seniors--a good thing that the charters have been doing for years. But he proposed the policy in a chat box in a zoom board meeting. No process, no document, just change by dictate.

These tactics sound familiar to anyone?

Is Roger Leon, Cami Anderson's former deputy, coming back with more of the same?

Anderson's years as Newark Superintendent were some of most volatile for our community. While some of her ideas were actually good ones, she showed insensitivity to our community through her actions. She made big decisions without engaging our community. She showed no interest in working with parents. As a result, many good ideas didn't go as far as they could to help children.

Unfortunately, rather than learning from Cami's mistakes, Roger has chosen to run our school district like a bully--just one with Newark roots.

Let's be real for a second, and maybe I will be a bit too real, but let me share what I hear about Roger. 

Roger, who is an appointed official, does not work well with our elected school board. He often ignores them. He hires too many people outside of Newark. He shows little effort in engaging parents. Sound familiar? 

Ask any principal, elected leader, or parent. Whenever an issue arises, we have all heard Roger blame his staff for something rather than owning the decision he has made. "Call me personally if you ever have an issue," we hear. Most of us don't believe it anymore. We have heard it too many times. Roger can look you in the eye, smile and hug you during one moment and then lie and stab you in the back the next. 

Roger's words are not true. Instead, he likes to act depending on the audience of the moment. Cami liked to be an actor as well. We all remember how she used to brag in public speeches that she was trained as an "improvisation actor." 

There are many similarities that Cami's former chief deputy has with his former boss. But the worst is that Roger has decided to continue the Cami Anderson way of doing things in Newark – by making significant decisions without any consultation with the community.

And please, let's face it, we are NOT seeing Leon making these drastic decisions because he has "higher expectations" than the rest of us. 

It's about him wielding his power and making knee-jerk decisions based on his own whims.

My blog has questioned some of Roger's actions in the past. I even highlighted Roger's bullying tactics with me personally, which, once I posted, seemed to remind many of the Cami days.

But here is what is keeping me up at night, Newark - 

Cami's downfall was simple. Newarkers had it with her. There were just too many times to count where she should have listened and built consensus rather than implemented on her own. 

Now, many years later, Cami's former chief deputy is following the Cami playbook - and it needs to stop.

Roger has followed Cami Anderson and created his own "One Newark" Plan." Just like the days of Cami, no one really understands his long- term vision for our school system. He seems to have very little interest in what his Board, Parents, Teachers, and Students think. And his actions are not bringing people together. Instead, Roger's "One Newark Plan" seems driven only by his own whims and implemented without consensus or working together. Just like Cami, Leon's new version of "One Newark" is only about one person – himself.

Where's my Refund? Newarkers Are Still Paying the Same Taxes, But Our Kids Are Receiving Less Learning - So How Do We Get Our Money or School Time Back?

 

As you know from my previous blog posts, my daughter attends West Side High School - and over the last few weeks I have shared some concerns about remote learning that just about every Newark parent currently feels.

 

Parents are concerned that many of us now have to pay for the added cost of technology for public school learning.  We are concerned with the lack of in-person adult supervision during classroom time.  We are concerned with the questionable attendance data the district has provided the state.

 

Today, I have a new concern for you - and like the others, it is something that has started to keep me up at night. 

 

Between my daughter's shorter remote learning schedule, technical difficulties, last minute class cancelations, etc - by my count, her hours of actual academic instruction is about half of what it was before COVID.   That is a lot of learning loss, right?

 

So over Thanksgiving break I started thinking - When will my kid and other Newark kids be provided all the learning time they have lost?  And what can we do about it?

 

Newarkers are paying the same taxes for public schools that we did before COVID, only our kids are now receiving less learning.  So where do I go to get my rebate?

 

 

Who do I send the bill to? Roger Leon? John Abeigon or his Boss Randi Weingarten who have been pushing for this.

 

 

I found this article about Los Angeles Public Schools and it rings true here in Newark.

 

The article starts off like this, "The Los Angeles Unified School District's distance learning plan has caused "enormous learning losses" and left tens of thousands of Black and Latino students without a basic education, according to allegations in a class action lawsuit filed against the district Thursday."

 

You should read the article.  Perhaps Newark parents should follow LA's and file lawsuits to get their refund! Not money, but learning time.

 

As Newarkers, we have seen inequity in our city's public education system for generations and our fight for fairness, opportunity, and a strong education for our kids has continued for decades.

 

We have seen a state unwilling to fully fund our city; school buildings turning to ruin; waste fraud and abuse from our centralized district office; and until recently, a state unwilling even to allow Newark's own people to run our own schools!

 

Learning loss has been a constant for all of us in Newark.  Funding does not get to our classrooms or our kids - and in many ways many of us those of us born and bred have become a product of learning loss.

 

And now, over 250,000 Americans have died because of this global pandemic. We have a current President obsessed with throwing away African American voting ballots, along with their health care, rather than helping our families during this health crisis. And with COVID rates dramatically expanding in recent days, we have heard the calls of our Mayor, and we know our city is in a terrible crisis.

 

It is a chaotic time and a scary time. I do not deny that.   But when it comes to education, this is simply more of the same.

 

So where do we go for our refund?

 

As children of Newark - and now as parents of Newark – the challenges that Newarkers face is not unchartered. We have seen crisis and inequality for generations. We have not backed down or remained silent during some of the most challenging moments in our city's history. In fact, it has been just the opposite. These times, these moments in our history, require us to ask questions and to fight.

 

Now to be clear, I am not advocating that we open up classrooms right now. While there is a very fair argument to do so, I am not a health care expert.

 

However, Newark, it's time to ask –

 

Who is making these decisions for our children?  Is it the Superintendent? Is it the Mayor? Is it the Governor?  Do these people even have their children enrolled in the Newark public education system?

 

It is a lot easier to close our public schools if you do not have a child in the Newark Schools. These deciders are not affected by the decision and do not understand our struggle right now.

 

Months from now, are our leaders going to call this moment a "lost weekend," or is there a plan to actually invest in our community and our kids and provide what has been lost?

 

I tell you what, my daughter deserves her full 100 percent – and so do all Newark kids.

 

Think about it. We know this. So many of our Newark kids have special needs. Many need more resources. Every hour, every day, every week, every month of lost time affects our kids' future.

 

Our kids are losing instruction, and with it, their equity and opportunity.

 

Newark, since no one else is addressing it, it looks like we need to we have to fight for our fair share. So it is time for Newark to stand up, just as we have done in the past, and ask the sensible question to our Newark leaders - When will my kid and other Newark kids get paid back for all the learning time they've never received?

 

It's up to us, Newark.