ALTURRICK KENNEY
FOR COUNCILMAN-AT-LARGE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2014
KENNEY STATEMENT ON NEWARK SUPERINTENDENT ANDERSON'S
REFUSAL TO HEAR COMMUNITY CONCERNS
Newark, N.J. – “Why don’t you want for all brown babies what you want for your brown baby?” was asked to Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson by a parent at the Newark Public School Board meeting last evening. After these statements Anderson uttered “Not my family” repeatedly before storming out of the meeting.
Newark Public School Advisory Board Member, Alturrick Kenney is openly disappointed by last night’s display, he said, “The order of business had not been completed when the superintendent left the meeting, I am especially disappointed because she did not lend herself to hear the concerns from the communities most impacted by her decisions as superintendent.”
The decisions that Kenney is referring to involve the closure of local neighborhood schools and most recently the fact that children who attend public schools in Newark were subjected to extremely hazardous conditions when Anderson decided to keep the schools open during a state of emergency.
Kenney insists that true and effective leadership requires changing direction when it has become clear that the current methods are either obsolete or doing more harm than good. Kenney added, “If the best interests of children are truly at the forefront, then there would be more willingness to partner with parents, education professionals, and community groups. On the contrary, the current administration has worked to silence members of their own body that disagree with the decisions being made at the top, this has created an environment where our principles and teachers put themselves at risk for making parents informed about matters that are relevant to their child’s education. Education allows children to take charge of their own destiny, children in Newark deserve the opportunity to succeed.”
CONTACT:
Malik Ali