11 Reasons Why You Should Walk out

Budget Cuts: Newark Public Schools faced a 57 million dollar budget cut just last year. That's 57 million dollars taken away from your after-school programs, your extracurricular activities, your education. Public school funding continues to decline, while the money that is entitled to us is going to Charter Schools.

“Charter Schools, so what?”: Charter schools are not held to many of the rules and regulations of traditional public schools. For example, the schools can create their own curriculum and grading systems, and teachers are not required to have a master's degree or state teaching certification. Charter Schools are not allowed to discriminate based on gender, race, or disability. However, they are allowed to discriminate based on religion, sexual orientation, or even one’s own wealth.

Our schools are shutting down: With the potential implementation of Cami Anderson’s One Newark Plan, all public schools fall under the potential of being closed down, “renewed”, “relocated”, or “co-located” with charter schools. This distorts the environment of these schools and threatens the job security of staff members and teachers who share these buildings with charter schools.

Our teachers are in danger: With the potential implementation of Cami Anderson’s One Newark Plan, 1 out of every 3 public school teachers will be in danger of losing their jobs, even experienced teachers with tenure. Seniority rights are being ignored, which then poses a question: is “One Newark” illegal?

Gov. Chris Christie doesn’t care about you, or your community:

“I don’t care about community criticism we run the school district in Newark, not them” (Gov. Chris Christie). These are the words of the man whose job is to represent us, defend us, and work for us. This man hand-picked Cami Anderson to control Newark and is a supporter of the One Newark Plan.

This is happening all over the country: The trend towards closing schools as a “school improvement” strategy has gathered speed over the past decade, sparked by pro-privatization forces, determined to break up centralized public school systems and dis-empower teachers unions. It is no accident that these efforts have centered on schools that serve low-income students of color. Newark, New Jersey - New Orleans, Louisiana - New York City, New York - Chicago, Illinois just to name a few.

If schools get closed, then where do all of the students go?: Schools closing means other schools are forced to enroll more students, which leads to overpopulation. There is research that proves that higher student to teacher ratios lead to a decrease in student achievement. When the performance of students in public schools fail, onlookers perceive the public schools as “failure factories”. This suits the State’s agenda in education reform because they want you to believe that public schools just don’t work.

Cami doesn’t care about us, either: State Appointed Superintendent Cami Anderson and her puppets walked out in the middle of January’s advisory board meeting, and haven’t attended an advisory board meeting since. On January 22, 2014 public school students were forced to go to school despite the fact that 12 inches of snow had fallen just the night before. The tri-state area was in a state of emergency and while charter schools were closed, public schools In Newark were open. Ms. Anderson has used the Newark Public School system for her own personal gain, and with her actions has sended a clear message for the rest of us: you are not important, you are not worthy.

Their “Solution” won’t solve anything: There is no research that links school closings to improved student achievement. In fact, research suggests that student achievement—at least initially—drops when a school is targeted for closure. Most students who are uprooted by closing a school, and forced into other, nearby schools, fare no better academically.

Wall Street is behind it all: Charter Schools are privately owned, which puts these schools under the potential of being run by Wall Street hedge funds (investment banking). Investment bankers can finance the purchase of schools, and make fees (mortgage points), that they can later use to sell as bonds to other investors. With millions of dollars at stake, the potential for abuse of this “industry” is apparent, by making education a business. Business deals should not be driving our education.

The system they’re promoting is built intentionally to make us fail: Where there’s privatization, there is obviously something that big brother doesn’t want to share, in this case it’s money. The right for us to receive a quality education, the tools to prepare us and fill us with knowledge and wisdom that we can ultimately carry and change the world with: these aren’t their intentions, this they do not believe in. Instead they have turned their heads to the other side to serve dollar signs instead of the people they represent. The harsh reality of the life we live today is a mirrored reflection of the intentions of those who dominate our lives.

Newark Students - Stand Up, Fight Back!