A Partnership That Puts Kids First In New Jersey [Or, More Bullshit About LIFO Cuz We Got Nuthin]

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We are thrilled to tell you about a new partnership we just formed with New Jersey-based Better Education for Kids, Inc. (B4K) to work on education reform in the Garden State.

B4K, based in New Brunswick, has a strong foothold in New Jersey, which will compliment the experience StudentsFirst has working on improving our schools nationally. Together, we plan to advocate for policies that put children first and improve student learning.

The alliance is a great example of how education reform groups are working together to advance our common goal of ensuring all kids have access to excellent schools . It's not about who makes headlines, or who gets credit. This movement is about ensuring America's children get the best education possible. Right now, our achievement gaps are too big, and our kids are lagging _ particularly in math _ behind their international peers. We can, and must, do better.

The partnership in New Jersey will focus on securing comprehensive reforms aimed at making sure all kids have great teachers and ensuring families are empowered with information and educational choices.

We also will work to elevate the teaching profession by getting rid of antiquated policies, such as last in, first out teacher layoffs, which ignore job performance while allowing seniority to dictate who stays in our schools and who goes. A recent survey found that there was widespread support in New Jersey for doing away with LIFO.

We also are advocating for better teacher evaluations that will provide educators with the feedback and professional development they want and kids need them to receive.

By working together, with your help, in the interest of children, this new alliance will surely be able to follow the lead of states like Florida, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio and Tennessee, which enacted comprehensive education reforms in recent months. We couldn't do this work without your support. Thanks for your efforts. We look forward to working with you in New Jersey.