Commissioner of Education David C. Hespe today announced the contract renewal for Cami Anderson, superintendent of the Newark Public School District.
“I am pleased to announce that the Department of Education has renewed the contract of Cami Anderson for an additional year,” said Commissioner Hespe. “Cami has worked tirelessly to implement positive education reforms that have benefited Newark students and parents. We look forward to continuing to support the progress that has taken place in the district.”
The contract provides for a compensation package that is consistent with her current contract, comprised of both base salary and merit pay. The superintendent will receive a 1.6 percent annual increase in her base salary to reflect inflation. As part of a hybrid agreement established by the State and the superintendent, this is the second year of the contract that potentially spans three years and requires at the end of each year an agreement by both the commissioner and superintendent to extend the contract for an additional year.
Anderson recently highlighted some of the progress that has been occurring in the district:
· The overall high school graduation rate increased by nearly 10 percentage points and the number of students passing the HSPA graduation test increased by 11 percentage points.
· Newark Public Schools (NPS) added 1,000 pre-K seats. The majority of families eligible for free pre-K are now enrolled, which was not the case four years ago.
· 75 percent of families received one of their top-five choices in the Universal Enrollment process. Family Support Specialists have been hired in a majority of schools to increase the partnership between families and schools.
· 500 fewer students have dropped out because of additional options provided through NPS.
· The number of “good” K-8 schools increased from 14 to 20, and the number of “on the move” schools increased from six to 12.
· Eight Renew Schools saw gains in reading and math (five saw gains in both), and eight new Renew Schools launched this year.
· NPS launched four new high schools (Bard Early College, Eagle Academy for Young Men, Girls Academy of Newark, and Newark Leadership Academy), and obtained the first IB status in the history of the district.
· NPS retained approximately 95 percent of its highly effective and effective teachers, while nearly 40 percent of the ineffective teachers exited the system.
· The district negotiated memorandums of understanding with its charter partners to ensure they equitably serve the district’s highest need students.
· NPS implemented a restorative justice approach to school culture and discipline, which helped decrease suspensions by 37 percent and out-of school suspensions by 23 percent.
· NPS became the second school district in the nation to receive a $7 million Head Start grant to improve its early childhood facilities and family supports.
· Brookings recently named Newark the #3 city in the country, behind New Orleans and New York, for the quality and diversity of school choices.