The Daily Newarker — Press Wire

Research Collaborative Follows Example Set by Chicago and Other U.S. Cities

Newark, NJ, April 8, 2009 – With excitement and great expectations, the Newark Public Schools District (NPS) and Rutgers University in Newark today announced the creation of the Newark Schools Research Collaborative (NSRC).

The mission of NSRC is threefold: to provide independent and objective research regarding what works within NPS and public charter schools in Newark; to provide data essential for the improvement of academic attainment and achievement of all children in Newark; and to create a collaborative research culture among universities and researchers from Newark, New Jersey, the region and the nation, NPS and charter schools in Newark, and community stakeholders.

Dr. Clifford Janey, superintendent of NPS said, “The NSRC will bring together the experts and research data the Newark Public Schools needs to address the formula for consistent academic performance. During our assessment phase we have been fortunate to engage Rutgers University and other partners as we move decisively to raise standards and energize staff. NSRC will also make an important contribution to school reform and help improve the capacity of Newark schools to use data, build effective strategies, and evaluate progress.”

NSRC will undertake research projects that provide district and school-by-school analyses of student achievement and school effectiveness in the NPS and Newark charter schools. Faculty and doctoral students from all three campuses of Rutgers University as well as other universities regionally and nationally will conduct the research utilizing state-of-the-art standards for data collection and analysis.

“With the establishment of NSRC, we look forward to a sustained, long-term relationship among its partners with the ultimate goal of carrying out a variety of educational research projects related to the needs of NPS and Newark charter schools,” said Dr. Steven J. Diner, chancellor of Rutgers University in Newark.

Dr. Janey noted that the NSRC process is one of a number of key NPS initiatives that will examine data derived directly from the school district to drive change. He also cited the recent comprehensive Walk-Through process, which marked the start of the process to build capacity, increase rigor and raise academic expectations for the district’s 75 schools. The superintendent said the information gleaned from the Walk-Throughs will complement the NSRC format which will identify progress and needed reform.

NSRC will be located on the Newark campus of Rutgers University and co-directed by Paul L. Tractenberg, Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor and Alfred C. Clapp Distinguished Public Service Professor of Law, and Alan R. Sadovnik, professor of Education, Sociology and Public Affairs. Tractenberg and Sadovnik also co-direct the Institute on Education Law and Policy at Rutgers University in Newark. In addition to its two co-directors, NSRC will have a governing board, an advisory board, various working groups and a staff headed by an administrative director.

NSRC is in part modeled after the nationally recognized Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR), which has been in operation at the University of Chicago since 1990. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, formerly chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools, supported the CCSR and believes that research and data collection helps to address weaknesses in schools. Similar entities are being created in a number of major U.S. cities, including New York City (at New York University) and Baltimore (at Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University).

Given the fluidity of the Newark student population, one of NRSC’s greatest benefits will be its ability to establish, for the first time, a permanent, shared data repository for results of all studies conducted over periods of years. NSRC will be able to track students as they progress through elementary, middle and high school regardless of whether they move from one neighborhood to another or transfer from a Newark district public school to a Newark charter school or vice versa. The construction and maintenance of reliable, current databases will be a paramount threshold project of NSRC and will be the basis of accurate analysis of educational progress in the city of Newark.

Other early NSRC research projects will include a study of student achievement, attrition and retention in every Newark district public school and every Newark charter school, and comparative analyses of both sectors to develop an understanding of what constitutes “best practices.” NSRC also will examine the differences in student achievement between applicants and non-applicants to one or more Newark charter schools, all of whom ultimately remain in a Newark district public school. A similar study will focus on the effect of the Newark charter school lottery system on student achievement, where students who are successful in the lottery attend a charter school and students who are not successful in the lottery attend a Newark district public school.

NSRC will obtain financial support for its operation and research projects from many governmental and foundation sources, including the Newark Charter School Fund (NCSF). The Victoria Foundation provided an initial planning grant that enabled a team from Rutgers, and the NPS to travel to Chicago, along with a representative of the NCSF, to study its successful research consortium model. Rutgers University in Newark will provide start-up support for the co-directors and a full-time administrative director, as well as in-kind support to physically house NSRC.

Dr. Janey concluded that he is excited about NSRC and is proud that his executive team is able to contribute to its development.

For more information about NSRC, please contact Tractenberg (973-353-5433 or tractnbg@rutgers.edu) or Sadovnik (973-353-3532 or sadovnik@andromeda.rutgers.edu).

Faculty and graduate students at Rutgers-Newark will explore the problems of the economy from contemporary, historical and literary perspectives at “Recession/Depression: A Forum Responding to the Economic Crisis.”

“Recession/Depression,” a public forum organized by the American Studies Program, will take place Wednesday, April 15, at 2:30 pm in Room 234 of the Paul Robeson Student Center. The Robeson Center is located at 350 Martin Luther King Boulevard in Newark.

Speakers will include:

• Rachel Hadas, Board of Governors Professor of English, who will read three great poems about money by three great poets: George Herbert, Philip Larkin, and Robert Frost.
• Mara Sidney, associate professor of political science, will examine urban governance and the impact of the economic crisis.
• Jason Barr, associate professor of economics, will relate the history of booms and busts in the United States and the world.
• Philip Cerny, professor of political science, will address the crisis and neo-liberalism.
• Sherri-Ann Butterfield, associate professor of sociology and anthropology, will speak on immigration and the economy.
• Susan Carruthers, associate professor of history, will discuss right-wing populism as a response to economic depression.
• Tad Hershorn, archivist, Institute of Jazz Studies, will speak on folklore, laborlore and the Great Depression in the life of Archie Green.
• Sean Singer, doctoral candidate in American Studies, will read poems written in response to economic distress by Virgil, Larry Levis and James Tate.
• Rosie Uyola, doctoral candidate in American Studies, will report on the work of the Newark-Essex Foreclosure Task Force.
• Neil Maher, associate professor of history, NJIT, will speak on the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps and its significance for the environmental movement.
• Robert Snyder, associate professor of journalism and American Studies, will speak on media, memory and the legacies of the Great Depression.

Contact:
Robert Snyder
Associate Professor
Journalism and American Studies
rwsnyder@andromeda.rutgers.edu
973-353-3727 (office)
212-861-9880 (home)

Summer Session Open to College and HS Students, Adult Learners

Newark, N.J., April 6, 2009 – In these times, increasing numbers of enterprising college and high school students, as well as adult learners, are interested in career advancement or personal development, and are taking advantage of summer courses. Rutgers University in Newark is a perfect fit for these individuals, since it is both internationally recognized and individually focused.

Rutgers in Newark offers both day and evening courses, at the undergraduate and graduate level, in nearly 40 fields of study, ranging from business to economics to social work. Online courses are available, and most courses are web-enhanced with the Blackboard Course Management System. Summer sessions run May 26-Aug. 12. Registration deadlines are available online at: http://summer.newark.rutgers.edu/regcal.php. Tuition for summer session is on a per-credit basis; see http://summer.newark.rutgers.edu/tuition.php for details.

Courses are available to visiting students from any college, and to adult learners. Due to Rutgers’ national reputation visiting students can be confident their courses will transfer to their home institutions. For high-achieving high school students, the Rutgers-Newark Summer Scholars Program offers a chance to get a head-start on their college education and an early exposure to the college experience.

Summer session classes meet at an average of four times per week in small classes on a campus easily accessible by multiple forms of transportation. All students enrolled in summer session are given full access to campus facilities such as its libraries, the Paul Robeson Campus Center, computer labs, and the Golden Dome Athletic Center, which includes a pool, tennis courts, a 7,000-square-foot fitness center and racquetball courts.

For additional information on Summer Sessions at Rutgers in Newark, please call 973/353-5112, or go to http://summer.newark.rutgers.edu.

The Rutgers campus is wheelchair-accessible. Rutgers can be reached by New Jersey Transit buses and trains, the PATH train and Amtrak from New York City, and by Newark Light Rail. Printable campus maps and driving directions are online at: http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/maps/index.php

Save the date: April 18, All-Class reunion at Rutgers in Newark

(Newark, N.J., Feb. 9, 2009) — Do your memories of Rutgers University in Newark include text-messaging friends and classmates during class? Perhaps when you think back to those days, they involve disco dancing – or were cars with fins and whitewall tires part of your college days? Whatever decade you graduated in, you’ll feel right at home on campus April 18, as the university in Newark welcomes back members of all graduating classes for a special alumni celebration. . Special recognition will be given for alumni class years ending in 4s and 9s.
The Newark All-Class Reunion and Open House begins at 11 a.m. with an alumni brunch, and includes walking tours of the City of Newark, an outdoor festival –complete with games and music – a fun and revealing personality workshop, and panel discussions, capped by a celebration with food, friends and live entertainment.

ALL ALUMNI ARE ASKED TO BRING DONATIONS OF NON-PERISHABLE FOOD ITEMS TO CONTRIBUTE TO RUTGERS AGAINST HUNGER, A UNIVERSITYWIDE EFFORT TO FIGHT HUNGER IN NEW JERSEY.

Alumni who want more information should call 973/353-5242, or go to Ralumni.com/Reunion.

NEWARK ALL-CLASS REUNION AND OPEN HOUSE
SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2009

Reunion brunch, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Paul Robeson Campus Center, University Club
Steven J. Diner, Chancellor of Rutgers University in Newark, will open the brunch with remarks. $20 per person includes meal and commemorative gift.

Walking tour of “The Once and Future” Newark, 1 – 2:30 p.m., meet on Norman Samuels Plaza. FREE; registration requested (all pre-registered alumni will receive a free gift). A 90-minute tour of Newark with guide and host Clement Price, Rutgers Distinguished Service Professor of History and celebrated scholar of Newark and New Jersey history.

Spring Fling Festival, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Woodward Residence Hall Lawn
Activities for the whole family, including moon-bouncers, music, games, and a barbecue. Free activities; barbecue is $8.00 per person payable onsite

True Colors Workshop, 3 – 4:30 p.m., Paul Robeson Campus Center, Paul Robeson Galleries, 1st Floor. FREE; registration requested (all pre-registered alumni will receive a free gift.) A fun and interactive workshop designed to assess personality traits and help participants better understand why they do what they do.

Public Service in the 21st Century, 4:30 – 6 p.m.;
Paul Robeson Campus Center; FREE; registration requested (all pre-registered alumni will receive a free gift.)
Interested in public service as a career or as a volunteer? The Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration offers a thought-provoking panel discussion designed to help citizens answer the call to advance public service ideals and solutions.

Reunion Celebration, 6 – 9 p.m., Paul Robeson Campus Center, Multipurpose Room
$50 per; an evening celebration featuring a variety of ethnic and American cuisine with special performance by Vinnie Brand, comedian and owner of the Stress Factory. Event includes includes buffet, beer/wine, performance and commemorative gift for pre-registered attendees; must be 21 to attend this event.

Visit reunion headquarters: RAlumni.com/Reunion, or call (973) 353-5242, for information.

The Paul Robeson Campus Center is wheelchair-accessible, as is the Rutgers-Newark campus. Rutgers Newark can be reached by New Jersey Transit buses and trains, the PATH train and Amtrak from New York City, and by Newark Light Rail. Metered parking is available on University Avenue and at Rutgers Newark’s public parking garage, at 200 University Ave. Printable campus maps and driving directions are available online at: http://www.newark.rutgers.edu/maps/index.php

Learn More During April 18th Campus-Wide Open House

(Newark, NJ, March 24, 2009) – What’s your passion: the arts and sciences, humanities, nursing, law, public affairs, criminal justice, business? Are you planning to start undergraduate studies in the fall, or want to transfer into a top-notch four-year research institution. Or are you ready to earn a masters or doctoral degree? Whatever your passion or your goal, odds are you can find what you want at Rutgers University in Newark, so mark Saturday, April 18 on your calendar. That’s when Rutgers-Newark will host its annual campus-wide open house, from 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
The April 18 open house, which is free and open to all, will be a one –stop source of information on undergraduate and graduate academic programs, financial aid, the admissions process, housing on campus, student life and other vital information for prospective students and their families. The day’s activities include walking tours of the campus’s academic buildings, laboratories, student center, recreational facilities, and residence halls. The annual Spring Fling carnival, also held on campus on Apri 18, will offer a fun look at campus life, including games, music and a barbecue. Also on schedule are information sessions about academic offerings, campus services, student services and financial aid; representatives of academic departments also will be on hand to answer questions and chat on a one-to-one basis.

The all-campus open house will include: the Newark College of Arts and Sciences, University College-Newark, the Graduate School-Newark, the Rutgers College of Nursing, the Rutgers School of Law-Newark, the Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick, the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, and the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration.

Registration for prospective undergraduates and transfer students begins at 9:30 on University Avenue, at the entrance to the New Street Plaza, and in the Paul Robeson Campus Center for those interested in graduate programs. Free parking is available in Parking Deck 1, 200 University Ave.; the campus can also be reached by New Jersey

Transit buses and trains, the PATH train and Amtrak from New York City, and by the Newark Light Rail.

For more information, please contact Carrie Livingston Alesiani, Admissions, clivingston@ugadm.rutgers.edu, or 973/353.5205. Additional information is at https://www.ugadmissions.rutgers.edu/110105.asp, including links to directions and maps.

30 Parolees Also Will Aid in Effort to Plant 51 Trees on April 4

WHO: The Physical Plant Department at Rutgers University in Newark, the Rutgers community, the New Jersey Tree Foundation and the New Jersey State Parole Board will provide helpers who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty — as well as 51 flowering and shade trees — to help restore tree canopies along Bleeker and Warren streets and Central Avenue, on the Newark campus. Sal Palatucci, supervisor of grounds for Rutgers in Newark, initiated the community planting program on the campus last year through the Tree Foundation’s Newark Renaissance Trees program, planting about 75 trees on campus streets.

WHEN: Saturday, April 4, 2009, from 9 a.m. until about noon.

WHAT: A project through the Newark Renaissance Trees program aimed at restoring the “tree canopy” throughout Newark. The task: plant 51 trees donated by the program to extend a ‘tree canopy” along the city streets that run through Rutgers University in Newark. A total of about 85 “gardeners,” including 30 parolees and nine Physical Plant employees, will plant purple leaf plum trees, Japanese tree lilacs, ginkgos, London Planetrees, and Rutgers cultivar pink flowering dogwoods. Rutgers Physical Plant will then be responsible for caring for the trees.

WHERE: The volunteers will assemble at 9 a.m. in front of Rutgers’ Stonsby Commons, 91 Bleeker St. (between University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) They will receive gloves, tools and water, watch a planting demonstration, then spread out along Bleeker and Warren streets and Central Avenue.

BACKGROUND: The New Jersey Tree Foundation — a statewide, non-profit organization –regularly partners with organizations across the state for tree-plantings and educational events to promote community forestry programs (Information: www.newjerseytreefoundation.org.) The Newark Renaissance Trees Program is a community tree adoption program that encourages stewardship and healthier living to all residents, community groups, and schools in Newark.

TO VOLUNTEER: Contact Shannon Buckley, NJ Tree Foundation, 609-439-1755, or njtf_sbuckley@yahoo.com. GLOVES, TOOLS AND WATER WILL BE PROVIDED. VOLUNTEERS SHOULD WEAR WORK BOOTS OR STURDY SNEAKERS, AND CLOTHES THAT CAN GET DIRTY.