E3 Excellent Education

As Excellent Education for Everyone (E3) continues to serve as the premier urban education reform organization in the state of New Jersey, I want to update you on some exciting developments that highlight the growing impact E3 is having on the education reform debate - impact that would not be possible without your critical support over the past fe... w years, and I want to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation. E3 has been working closely with our New Jersey School Choice and Education Reform Alliance (NJSCERA) to support Governor Chris Christie in promotion of school choice. The Governor recently announced in his 1999 budget proposal his intention to launch a $2 million school choice pilot program. With an initial focus on Camden, the pilot program will offer scholarships that low-income students in struggling schools will use to attend better performing public or private schools. This is a tremendous step forward in making school choice a reality in one of the bluest states in the country. E3 is committed to leading the charge to support the Governor and the bipartisan group of NJ state officials behind him to secure pilot's full implementation, which opponents have indicated they will spend whatever it takes to derail. Our activities will focus on three core areas: 1) legislative outreach to engage and bolster support from key Democratic members of the state legislature; 2) grass roots outreach to identify parents interested in participating in the OSA pilot program, as well as to bring to bear the voices of the broader community of parents in support of the OSA pilot as a critical first step in improving the quality of urban educational choice and standards; and 3) development of a sophisticated, multifaceted communications strategy to counter the opponents' misinformation campaign that we anticipate will employ myriad tactics, from op-eds and billboards to TV spots and social media. Securing a school choice program in Camden, challenging existing abysmal academic standards through the ...Read More