tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post1443821831040819666..comments2024-03-28T23:52:50.698-04:00Comments on Mother Crusader: Should A Quasi-Private-Elite Hebrew Charter Be Allowed To "Recruit Diversity" In An Apartheid District?Mother Crusaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05282456501033994143noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-1602394199957390112015-03-20T12:34:23.755-04:002015-03-20T12:34:23.755-04:00The reason they are looking for "free/reduced...The reason they are looking for "free/reduced" lunch kids in New Brunswick is that would include Rutgers Graduate Students (with young children), and there is a Immigrant Russian Jewish population right across the river from Highland Park. I would assume that population would have free/reduced lunch students.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-58816289845382632482014-02-11T09:49:07.424-05:002014-02-11T09:49:07.424-05:00Thanks so much for putting in the time and work to...Thanks so much for putting in the time and work to publish this blog. I don't necessarily agree with all of your conclusions, but I believe you are doing an immeasurable service to our community by airing some of the facts you discover during what must be hours of research.<br />Keep up the good work!Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-55098204775090654572014-02-05T15:53:48.055-05:002014-02-05T15:53:48.055-05:00Thanks for that insight, Cris! Here is the descrip...Thanks for that insight, Cris! Here is the description of the advertising described in the annual report. Readers can gauge for themselves if this is indeed "valiant" and/or likely to recruit a diverse population that represents the sending districts.<br /><br />1. Visits to places of worship, daycare centers, other child care facilities, and anywhere children would likely be such as karate studios, dance centers etc. to distribute brochures about Hatikvah and its lottery.<br /><br />2. Hatikvah’s recruitment committee scheduled a breakfast meeting for area clergy members and child tutoring location staff, but it was unfortunately cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy.<br /><br />3. Advertisements were placed in local newspapers such as East Brunswick Sentinel, North/South Brunswick Sentinel, Edison/Metuchen Sentinel, News Transcript, and local websites: patch.com, nj.com, family.com as well as on East Brunswick television called EBTV.<br /><br />4. A local Sunday Mandarin school invited Hatikvah to distribute literature to more than 100 families as a result of a recommendation by one of our families.<br /><br />5. Hatikvah placed an advertisement in the local Indian Cultural Society advertisement journal.<br /><br />6. Hatikvah installed a sign along Cranbury Road to advertise the lottery to road traffic.Mother Crusaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05282456501033994143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-15532227226744313122014-02-05T15:05:51.842-05:002014-02-05T15:05:51.842-05:00I'm not so sure they "make valiant effort...I'm not so sure they "make valiant efforts to advertise their presence so as to draw from the widest cross section of the community," as you claim.<br /><br />Their 2012-2013 annual report says, "Parents of current students are the school’s best source of referrals and whenever openings are available at the school, the current parent body is informed and asked to help fill the spots." <br /><br />That sure seems likely to ensure a homogeneous student body there.Crisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-13702519468783586812014-02-05T13:08:25.715-05:002014-02-05T13:08:25.715-05:00Once again, my advocacy work is separate from my B...Once again, my advocacy work is separate from my Board work. That said, I have done a comparative analysis in this post, comparing the demographics of Hatikvah with their top 4 sending districts, and it paints a picture that you seem to find upsetting enough to attack me personally. <br /><br />If you hope to make your claims of racism against me and my district, I think the burden of proof is on you. <br /><br />Seems you have to define "top level classes" and then look at those classes across the same districts I have identified above, (or I suppose you could pick your own districts - preferably ones with a similar racial and socioeconomic mix as HP, ya know, to be fair). Then, if you could show definitively that HP indeed has significantly less minorities represented in those classes then similar districts, then we could have a discussion about that and how to address that issue in our schools. <br /><br />Not sure how you would support your claims of racism though - that would be hard to prove. (And for the record, I have made no such claims against Hatikvah or anyone that works or sends their children there.)<br /><br />Until you conduct such an analysis you are doing little more than continuing to hurl your "slimy" insinuations to attempt to smear my character and deflect attention from the actual issue at hand, that Hatikvah is serving a different population than the surrounding districts and intends to recruit diversity from an apartheid district.Mother Crusaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05282456501033994143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-46930858384512953172014-02-05T08:59:16.065-05:002014-02-05T08:59:16.065-05:00If you are so obsessed with outcomes as the measur...If you are so obsessed with outcomes as the measure of opportunity then please explain - which you do not - why the top level classes at Highland Park schools are nearly all white notwithstanding the fact that the district is much more diverse. Does this reflect racism by the HPBOE. I do not see it that way as all students are offered the same opportunity without regard to race or economic standing. But you seem to be fine with that status. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-59226511342748581602014-02-04T22:25:36.748-05:002014-02-04T22:25:36.748-05:00You say the charter has made "valiant" e...You say the charter has made "valiant" efforts to recruit diversity, but apparently the efforts have not been sufficient. I disagree with you that my post is race baiting. Odd that you only seem offended by the race issue, not the socioeconomic issue or the special education issue, or the limited english proficiency issue... where is your indignation for those student populations?<br /><br />The intention of my post is to point out that the demographics of the school do not match those of ANY of the sending districts, and that the charter claims it will rectify this by recruiting in a district that is primarily black, hispanic and poor. I fail to see how I am race baiting by pointing to this set of facts.<br /><br />As for your 'slimy' insinuation, thank you for giving me the opportunity to state that the opinions on my blog are mine and mine alone and do not represent those of the Highland Park Board of Education. My advocacy work is my own.Mother Crusaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05282456501033994143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-59270993342758540692014-02-04T22:06:32.152-05:002014-02-04T22:06:32.152-05:00not sure how to respond to this. are you asking me...not sure how to respond to this. are you asking me if i am ok with some folks getting advantages that others don't? if that is your question, the answer is no, i am not ok with that.Mother Crusaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05282456501033994143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-4532908758249194552014-02-03T22:48:49.699-05:002014-02-03T22:48:49.699-05:00This is flat race baiting. This school has been ...This is flat race baiting. This school has been the target of unrelenting attack by you from the outset as you seek to undermine their efforts . Meanwhile the supporters and staff of this particular charter school make valiant efforts to advertise their presence so as to draw from the widest cross section of the community and you have the audacity to allege racism.<br /><br />Meanwhile, if we really want to look at race, what percentage of the Highland Park district honors classes are white versus the lower educational tiers within your district. Does that make Highland Park a racist district? Does that make you a racist being that your a board member? Perhaps not.......but the insinuation is slimy and neither should you make such claims against this charter. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-11413107079427641292014-02-03T18:30:49.008-05:002014-02-03T18:30:49.008-05:00Elites gonna elite. Nothing can stop it. Look - ev...Elites gonna elite. Nothing can stop it. Look - every time the state builds a road which helps MomCrusader commuting time - it comes at the cost of building a road in the urban core of Newark. Does that bother her?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041287977169808397.post-40852080137901890942014-02-02T14:03:26.501-05:002014-02-02T14:03:26.501-05:00I'm glad they're being honest that the sc...I'm glad they're being honest that the school is not reflective of its host community and looking to remediate that. But, two things come to mind: <br />1) The Commissioner has no business approving a large scale expansion of the school until they've demonstrated they can fix the problem, and<br />2) Cream-skimming some of New Brunswick's students could increase the concentration of students suffering the impacts of poverty in their classrooms. Even worse, New Brunswick becomes one more community affected by the charter while having zero voice in the process.Crishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13518429951679327914noreply@blogger.com