Laura Waters
Blogger
Blogger, Parent, School Board Member
Lawrence Township, New Jersey
Featured Blog: NJ Left Behind
RECENT POSTS
Posted July 5, 2017
It’s Going to Be a Lot Harder to Shade Newark Public Schools With These Graduation Rates
It’s easy to be skeptical about improvements to Newark Public Schools (NPS), given its sordid history of corruption, desultory oversight,…
Posted June 13, 2017
Jared’s Got Something Special and KIPP’s ‘Pathways’ Is Helping Him Show It
Eight-year-old Jared Teel-Drayton hops into the room, hands flapping, eyes darting, smile alight. He’s been painting—his class went to the…
Posted June 2, 2017
The Woman Behind the Miracle on Cooper Street in Camden
Point A: A young girl born in Puerto Rico in 1962 spends her childhood traveling up and down the Eastern…
Posted Mar. 24, 2017
Here Are Some ‘Choice’ Highlights From Eva’s Interview With Chalkbeat
This whole district public school vs. charter public school—I don’t think parents think of it that way. I think they…
Posted Mar. 22, 2017
The Supreme Court Does the Right Thing for Students With Disabilities But Now Here Comes the Hard Part
Here’s Chief Justice John Roberts, issuing the Supreme Court’s unanimous opinion today in a case called Endrew F. v. Douglas…
Posted Mar. 22, 2017
Coffee Break: Parent Advocate Muhammed Akil on Getting Honest About Our Weaknesses and Creating Real Change
Muhammed Akil is a fierce advocate for school choice and unflinching in his conviction that we must confront long-time failures…
Posted Feb. 2, 2017
District and Charter Schools Are Partnering to Help More Students Succeed and It’s Working
According to a new report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), Bridging the District-Charter Divide to Help More…
Posted Jan. 24, 2017
Let’s Avoid ‘Alternative Facts’ When We Talk About School Choice and Charter Schools
Over the weekend, Americans were introduced to a new meme: “alternative facts,” Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway’s awkward rationalization of the…
Posted Jan. 23, 2017
How Parents Benefit From School Accountability
If you’re a parent like me, at the start of each school year you eagerly learn all about the course…
Posted Jan. 18, 2017
Watching DeVos Makes Me Nervous for All the Children Like My Son Who Have Special Needs
I’ve tried to be open-minded about Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos. Many people I respect view her as…
