Press from The Prize

This week, as our kids, parents and teachers get back into regular school sessions, Dale Russakoff’s much-anticipated book, “The Prize” hit shelves. The book, which has been receiving accolades for its detailed coverage of the $100 million grant by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has raised a great deal of new interest in the educational transformation taking place in Newark over the past five years. But in all the analysis, one seminal point should not be missed: That the efforts of dedicated teachers and families have shown and are continuing to show are yielding tremendous successes for Newark’s children. In fact, a recent analysis shows that due to the growth of high performing charter schools, African American students in Newark today are twice as likely to attend a school that outperforms the state average as they were when we opened our doors over a decade ago. The vast majority of this improvement has come from charters.

Here are the pieces covering The Prize:

The Star-Ledger

Newark students are better off, despite the political noise

WNYC

How Booker, Christie Spent the $100 Million Facebook Donation

Charter School Head Says Newark Schools Are Better Since Facebook Gift

The Wall Street Journal

Newark’s $100 Million Education Debate [Paywall]

NPR’s Fresh Air

Assessing The $100 Million Upheaval Of Newark’s Public Schools

Politico

A prize even Zuck couldn’t win