This edition of Trust Matters is dedicated to providing opportunities and resources for children and families to enjoy one another and the Newark community throughout the summer months. Here we provide a round up of options to help prevent summer slide, have fun, and engage in self care with resources from Arts Ed Newark, The City of Newark, The Newark Museum of Art, The Newark Public Library and Newark Thrives.

NEW SESSION ALERT! We are excited to announce the addition of a new session focused on Arts Education and Healing-Centered Practices to Build Resilience at NTE's third annual Safe and Supportive Learning Environments (SSLE) Summit: Covid-19 & Beyond! Scheduled for Thursday, May 12th (11:00 am - 12:30 pm), this session will introduce participants to arts based, healing-centered approaches to address trauma and build resiliency in students.

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The Newark Trust for Education is proud to present the third annual Safe and Supportive Learning Environments (SSLE) Summit: Covid-19 & Beyond! This year’s summit will focus on working together with students and families to create safe and supportive learning environments post pandemic. Over the course of four days (May 10th – 13th) participants will hear keynote remarks delivered by experts including Dena Simmons, Ed.D., Educator. Activist. Lifelong Learner and founder of LiberatED; David Adams, Board of Directors of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and  CEO of The Urban Assembly; and national expert on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) Dave Ellis, Executive Director for the Office of Resilience within New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families (DCF).

DOWNLOAD AGENDA HERE

Did you know that there are four open seats on the Newark Board of Education? On Tuesday, April 20^th Newark residents will have the opportunity to cast their votes for four open seats on the Newark Board of Education (NBOE). Six candidates will vie for three open seats for three-year terms. Two candidates will vie for one open seat to complete a one-year unexpired term.

After the passing of NBOE member, Tave Padilla, Vereliz Santana was appointed to his seat in January of 2021. Santana’s term will expire after the April 20^th election. The candidate elected for the unexpired one-year seat will complete the final year of Padilla’s term. Visit Campaign Central to learn more about the candidates!

Curious about the public question on the ballot regarding the budget for school year 2021-22? Download our Budget Fact Sheet to unpack the question regarding funds for the 2021-22 school year.

On Tuesday, April 20, candidates will vie for open seats on the Newark Board of Education. During this occasion, residents have the opportunity to shape the future of public education for our children. Do your part. Stay informed. Vote.

In this edition of Trust Matters we share information on voter registration, essential training for School Board Members and an opportunity for you to meet the candidates as we gear up for this year's Annual Newark Board of Education Candidate's Forum. This year's forum, scheduled for Tuesday, April 6th, 6pm - 8pm, will be co-moderated by Ronald Chaluisán (Newark Trust for Education), Shennell McCloud (Project Ready), and Dr. Leah Owens (NAACP Newark). REGISTER NOW!

The Newark Trust for Education is excited to announce this year's launch of Campaign Central, committed to serving as an independent source for information about the 2021 Newark Board of Education election scheduled for Tuesday, April 20th.

From now until April 20th, we’ll do all we can to ensure that you find the information needed to make your choice. The Trust is committed to creating a forum for the residents of Newark to hear and assess the candidates’ priorities and ideas.

The Newark Trust for Education is dedicated to coordinating and focusing ideas, people, and resources to provide a quality public education to all children in Newark, New Jersey. As part of this mission, we are excited to announce the launch of Great Start, Great Future — our new early milestones campaign for Newark children, ages 0–3.

Our goal for the campaign is to educate parents and caregivers of children ages 0–3 about developmental milestones, connect them with resources and supports, and build and strengthen the communication infrastructure for engagement with parents and caregivers of young children in Newark.

To that end, we are excited to announce the rollout of our webpage and campaign materials. The webpage provides a list of local and national resources to inform and equip parents and caregivers with resources needed to aid their child’s development.

The Newark Trust for Education thanks Ms. Shané Harris for her leadership and service to Newark's families over the past eight years, in her role as Chairperson of the Newark Trust for Education’s Board of Directors.

We are thrilled that Mrs. Harris will continue her relationship to the Trust as Chairperson of the newly formed Governance Committee. In this capacity, she will guide the Board's growth and development as we enter the next decade of service to Newark.

We are equally thrilled to announce the election of Ms. Celia M. King, Chief Executive Officer of Leadership Newark, and Mr. Robert Clark, Founding Executive Director of YouthBuild Newark, as Co-Chairpersons for the Trust’s Board of Directors. We look forward to continued growth and expanded impact under their leadership.

The Newark Trust for Education is also excited to announce the appointment of Stacey Alicea as Director of Early Learning Strategy. Stacey Alicea joined the Newark Trust for Education in October 2020 as Director, Early Learn Strategy. Stacey is a community psychologist with a deep commitment to bridging research and practice initiatives grounded in community participatory action, critical pedagogy, social network, continuous improvement, and systems design frameworks. Stacey is passionate about engaging local stakeholders as partners in the development, implementation and sustainability of initiatives targeting holistic youth and family development, resource accumulation and wellness in school-based and community settings. Her work in this space includes experiences that span youth- and community-centered early childhood and school-based initiatives to community-based health and wellness programs in New York City, the Caribbean, South America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Newark Trust for Education would like to stay connected and hear your questions and ideas about moving forward with school during this challenging and uncertain time, because we are smarter and better together. With that in mind, we are ANNOUNCING A NEW THOUGHTEXCHANGE to document your experiences and to learn about the experiences of others with remote learning. This ThoughtExchange is open to ALL students, parents, and teachers (inside and outside of Newark), so please share with your networks.

The survey closes Monday, September 21, 2020, at Midnight. 

Welcome back to school!

At the Newark Trust for Education we understand that starting school during this turbulent time can be overwhelming. In this issue of Trust Matters we include articles to help mediate the transition, insight into the concerns and recommendations of the larger Newark community, and the opportunity for you to chime in. To better understand the thoughts, questions, and concerns of the Newark community, NTE hosted an online conversation on ThoughtExchange. The feedback gathered was made public during a virtual town hall held last Tuesday and we’ve included links to the recording along with additional insights, including a summary report of the ThoughtExchange and individual reports by issue area.