On behalf of the staff and Board of Directors of the Newark Trust for Education, I am proud to share our work with eighty-seven toddlers and their families as captured in the study, Forming Early Learning Habits: Newark ParentChild+ Families and Their Toddlers Redefine Their Homes as Learning Environments by our Senior Research and Evaluation Officer, Pritha Gopalan. ParentChild+ is a parenting and early learning program for parents, caregivers and their toddlers developed by Dr. Phyllis Levenstein, a clinical psychologist, in 1979. The objectives of ParentChild+ are to:

1. Increase school readiness and school success;
2. Support reading and play activities in the home;
3. Build language, literacy, and learning-rich home environments; and
4. Support the development of social-emotional skills so children enter school ready to be successful students.

The Trust began this work in the summer of 2018 as part of our mission to partner with schools, communities, and parents to promote and establish favorable conditions for learning. Through early observations, we have become interested in exploring the idea of what we believe to be a continuum of understanding that is growing apparent across the homes in which we work—a continuum that includes an awareness of learning, an emphasis on learning and a culture of learning.

We hope that you enjoy and learn from this study, and encourage you to reach out to us with your responses to these ideas.

Click here to download Forming Early Learning Habits

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NTE Funders' Collaborative Network Engagement Presentations

As part of the Funders’ Collaborative grants program during the 2018-2019 school year, the Newark Trust for Education collaborated with Ramapo for Children to facilitate Network Improvement Meetings to a cohort of six participating schools. During meetings and site visits schools addressed challenges to creating and managing teams dedicated to implementing social-emotional learning (SEL) projects, understanding, monitoring and evaluating metrics, and connecting discreet projects to school-wide culture and climate/SEL initiatives. Each school presented their experience and learnings in final presentations to cohort members in June 2019.

Links to each presentation and the group discussion are included below.

McKinley Elementary School Presentation 

Hawthorne Avenue School Presentation

Hawkins Street School Presentation

East Side High School Presentation  

Bard High School Early College Newark Presentation

13th Avenue/ Dr. MLK, Jr. School Presentation

NTE & Ramapo Network Engagement Discussion

Newark Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!)

NRBP’s Newark Young Entrepreneurs Academy (Newark YEA!) is a groundbreaking and exciting program that transforms Newark middle and high school students into genuine, confident entrepreneurs. Through the 25-week program, students generate business ideas, conduct market research, write business plans, pitch to a panel of investors, and launch their very own companies. The class is comprised of about 20 students who apply and are interviewed for participation in the program. Students that are accepted into the program participate free of charge.

Newark YEA! is now accepting applications from creative, determined, and enthusiastic students in grades 6-12 who want to be entrepreneurs. Click here to submit your application today. Use promo code EARLY20 to waive the online application fee! Students or teachers that would like to receive copies of the paper application should contact Emily Manz at [email protected]. The application deadline is September 25, 2019.

Click here to apply. 

For more information or questions, please contact YEA! Program Manager Emily Manz via email at [email protected] or 646-856-9076.

UPCOMING EVENTS

2nd Annual Hugs 4 Healing Walk

The Help Us Become Better (HUBB) Community Empowerment Center invites you to participate in their 2nd Annual Hugs4Healing Walk. The purpose of this Annual Hugs4Healing Walk is to continue sparking a sense of unity, togetherness, and hopefulness by walking through the streets of Newark providing gigantic hugs to the community members encountered.

Date: Saturday, August 17, 2019

Time: 11:00am-2:00pm

Location: Route A- Starts at Peter Fransisco Park/ Route B- Starts at International Youth Organization (IYO) 

Moving Toward Equity: A Thought Leader Conversation with Hal Smith

Join this exciting and provocative thought leader session featuring the Forum for Youth Investment’s Karen Pittman and the National Urban League’s Hal Smith. This webinar will highlight 12 equity indicators that were used to evaluate state-level education plans, highlighted in the recent National Urban League report titled “Standards of Equity & Excellence: A Lens on ESSA State Plans.” This conversation will help hone your understanding of educational equity and excellence, by sharing data to sharpen your understanding of inequities, and profiling some examples of how these inequities can be addressed. 

Date: Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm

Location: Webinar

Registration: Click here to register. Registration required.

#NewarkReads Mayor's Book Club Celebration

Mayor Ras J. Baraka invites you to celebrate the Mayor’s Book Club as part of the #NewarkReads program! High School to Adult Readers can also pick up their copy of the fall book club selection, Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Date: Saturday, August 24, 2019

Time: 11:00am-2:00pm

Location: Newark Public Library, 5 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07102

2nd Citywide Back to School Rally

The Newark Board of Education presents it's second annual Citywide Back to School Rally with free backpacks and school supplies. Registration is required.

Date: Thursday, August 29, 2019

Time: 3:00pm-6:00pm

Location: Newark Schools Stadium, 450 Bloomfield Avenue, Newark, NJ 07107

Registration: Click here to register. Registration required.

FREE Art and Writing Workshop for Teens

Teens are invited to a free, full-day workshop at the Newark Museum that will focus on the themes of Grief and Growth. First, we will explore the Museum's collections during a gallery walk and connect the art we see to these themes. Using the art from the museum's collections as inspiration, we will then create our own art and writing. This workshop will focus on poetry and the creation of "memory boxes," but any students interested in the creative arts are welcome. Lunch will be provided.

Date: Saturday, September 28, 2019

Time: 9:30am-4:00pm

Location: Newark Museum, 49 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07102

Registration: Click here to register. Registration required.

SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Integrating Social, Emotional and Academic Development: An Action Guide for School Leadership Teams
2. Standards of Equity and Excellence: A Lens on ESSA State Planning
3. Adverse Childhood Experiences: Opportunities to Prevent, Protect Against, and Heal from the Effects of ACEs in New Jersey