By Matt Kadosh

With significant ad buys in local media and on social media, along with storefront flyers and bright advertising on box trucks, a New Jersey advocacy group that says it “educates public school parents” about their kids’ schools is raising questions in Montclair, West Windsor and Plainsboro.

On a section of its website dedicated to Montclair, Wake Up Call NJ says that 38% of local fourth graders “can’t do math at grade level.”

By Laura Waters

Last week West Windsor-Plainsboro superintendent David Aderhold issued a 14-page broadside in response to data published by the non-profit Wake Up Call New Jersey (WUCNJ) showing, great reputation aside, 34% of WW-P students can’t do math at grade level and 41% of third graders can’t read read at grade level.  In his letter…

By Frannie Block

“We should have the best education system in the world. We should have an education system that reflects us being a superpower. But there is no one with a straight face who can say that the United States has a world-class education system.”

That damning verdict comes from Pete Shulman, the former deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education.

Wake Up Call NJ, a non-partisan, nonprofit educational advocacy organization founded by Laura Overdeck and Peter Shulman, this week launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign across New Jersey.

The mission of this campaign is to awaken every citizen, parent and taxpayer in the state to the inconvenient truths about the quality of New Jersey's public schools and boost demand for transparency.

By Mike Kelly

A month ago, a disturbing advertisement started popping up regularly on television stations whose audience included residents of New Jersey.

The ad portrayed three children, all seemingly cute, carefree, playful and inquisitive. One girl was shown reaching for a flower. A boy gazed through a magnifying glass at a small sphere. Another boy blew bubbles into the wind. But then, the mood changed…

By Chad Aldeman

In the New Jersey governor’s race, Democrat Mikie Sherrill is facing off against Republican Jack Ciattarelli. In their debate last week, Ciattarelli apparently highlighted the “Southern Surge” states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Alabama, which have seen some of the more impressive academic outcomes in the last 5-10 years.

By Laura Waters

As Wake Up Call NJ and the National Parents Union continue to shine light on the lack of clear information about student proficiency levels in some of New Jersey’s most highly-praised suburban school districts, the first two districts highlighted, West Windsor-Plainsboro (WW-P) and Montclair, are both making headlines.