California has experienced a decline in adequate funding for the public education system that has created a jarring reality for its 6.2 million students. While recent investments have helped schools fully recover from the devastating cuts made during the great recession, that additional spending has not come close to what is needed to achieve the…

Two decades ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court in "Abbott v. Burke" mandated that the state establish high quality preschool education in the 31 highest-poverty school districts. New Jersey created a pre-K program with high standards and a continuous improvement system that transformed a patchwork of private and public programs into a…

There is no question that students who experience homelessness, like all students, are entitled to be educated. A federal law, known as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, requires states to provide homeless children and youth with the same access to free appropriate public education as is available to other students. The Act also requires…

No school district can be all charismatic leaders and super-teachers. It cannot start from scratch, and it cannot fire all its teachers and principals when students do poorly. Great charter schools can only serve a tiny minority of students. Whether we like it or not, most of our youngsters will continue to be educated in mainstream public…

For 15 years, "Newark Kids Count" has provided insight into the challenges facing Newark's children and families. This report presents the portrait of Newark children in 2010. A special section on Newark charter schools is also presented. Advocates for Children of New Jersey's (ACNJ's) goal in choosing this topic was to inform the…

"Newark Kids Count 2004" presents a statistical snapshot of child well-being that can be used to inform those efforts to create a strong community safety net for Newark's youngest citizens. Following is a look at some of the major trends documented in this year's report: (1) Poverty persists; (2) Nutritional supports lag; (3) Unmarried…

For the 8th year, "Newark Kids Count 2005" paints a statistical portrait of city children, who are born with so much promise and given so few chances to fulfill that promise. As the city, and indeed the state, labor to build a child welfare system that keeps children safe and families together, everyone must remember that real children…

"Camden Kids Count 2004" provides a snapshot of child well-being in one of New Jersey's most impoverished cities, in the hopes of helping both city and state policymakers make use of limited resources to help New Jersey's neediest children. Here are some major findings documented in this report: (1) Thirty-five percent of Camden's…