I love this day — I love the first day of school! So tremendous. Our City is a buzz with energy and the dynamic hope that each one of our children bring. Stakes are high and I am charged up by those who are determined to meet them. So I began early this morning, intent on visiting as many schools as possible. I charge from classroom to classroom as the loudest, largest cheerleader our City has — thanking staff, crossing guards, security personnel, administrators, custodial staff, teachers, principals and parents for stepping up to the challenge and the higher expectations our new superintendent and I are placing for our kids.

I carried journals and school supplies with me (I say I did, please read my staff did, God bless them for lugging all of those bags – an especially huge thanks to Erich Caulfield, my Senior Policy Advisor, and Xania Foster, my Education Program Manager, for chasing after me, arms full of goodies).

In each class I visited, I spoke about the importance, if not the urgency, of education.

I told stories about my early years, how I began keeping a journal and writing my goals each day and how it actually helped to embolden my education and achievement.

I told older children about how we now live in a global knowledge-based economy — that how much we EARN is directly dependent upon how much we LEARN.

I told them that education is about increasing options. The more you learn, the more options you have for your life, the more possibilities open up. Don’t give up your freedom, don’t shackle yourself to small narrow choices, liberate yourself and claim the magnificent multitude of options and possibilities your life contains.

I asked over a dozen classrooms if they would get straight if I offered them $1000. Countless hands went up throughout the day. I asked them what they would do differently and heard about studying harder, not watching TV, doing homework, etc. Then I of course said, so what your saying is that your excellence in is not an issue of CAN you but WILL you. You have the potential but are lacking the will. So this is then an issue of your own personal motivation, your own determination to achieve excellence or even simply how excited you are about your dreams. $1,000 can motivate you but your dreams of succeeding in life can’t . . . .

I tried to get them to understand that in this economy $1,000 is nothing compared to what they could earn for their success – in today’s economy the difference in lifetime earnings for the average high school graduate compared to the average college graduate is over $1 million. I told them that there are hundreds of thousands of dollars of scholarships waiting for them if they demonstrate excellence. And finally I told many classes that this ultimately isn’t about dollars and cents. It is about what you were born to do – that every person on earth is born with a purpose – to magnify the glory of the divine – to fulfill their unique potential and rise up to their highest calling. I told them that the world needed them, it needed their genius, their compassion, it needed their power and their potential. This world is suffering from too many people playing small, too many people taking the easy way, too many people underestimating what they can do. We are a nation born by people who chose sacrifice, who opted for the challenging path, who were willing to do the hard work. And now we all reap the benefits of their glorious decisions. They need to make the boldest of decisions now, make the sacrifice now, put in the hard work now so that they open up a world of opportunity for themselves and leave a legacy for their children and our country bigger than they inherited.

As you can see. . . . I love the first day of school. . . . . .

Here is my step by step through the City today. 11 schools from 7:45 am until 2:50 pm . . . .

1. Central High School
Ribbon Cutting – a new building . . . 10 years in the making. Major kudos to the hundreds of community leaders who fought to make this new tremendous facility possible, who never gave up hope (it was good to see Ms. Wilhemina Holder and the Jacobs family there). My gratitude to the state’s school construction team and all the others who made our new Central High possible.
And a special shout of gratitude to Shanique Jones (the amazing superstar senior) and the other student activists who picked up this fight and pushed our efforts across the finish line. This was a great way to start the day.

2. Camden Street School
Almost 500 kids showed up today, an amazing staff and 47 teachers ready to go. Camden Street has grades pre K through 4, as well as a special needs population. I have enormous respect for the principal, Ms. Lavon Pack, who seemed so ready for this year and showed such genuine love for the kids. I saw amazing young people who were so eager. . . . and I saw a few kids clinging to their mothers with tears in their eyes. . . I hope my mom doesn’t write a commentary about this blog, she may have a story or two about my first days.

3. Rafael Hernandez
Rafael Hernandez contains grades K - 8. I was very impressed with principal Juan Carlos, a young guy who is charged up for a great year, along with his team. I’ve got great hope for their success this year. I really enjoyed going through the school and visiting the various classrooms. I had a lot of fun conversations with the students.

4. Abingdon Ave. School
Dennis Torsiello is the principal of one of our traditionally highest performing schools. He met me with a determination to lift the school’s performance and excel on the state’s standardized tests.

5. Elliot St. School
I am so grateful for the team at this school. They were burned out of their facility in my first year in office and have been working under difficult conditions. They make no excuses though and are digging in for what I believe will be a great year.

6. Christ the King
Christ the King is a private school with a great model – children gain work experience in real work settings all over the city of Newark. The money they earn pays their tuition. 60 Minutes did a great piece on this school model in another city and the results they boasted there seem to be within the reach of this school. I was very impressed with the students I engaged in their theology class and their work experience really seems to focus and empower them.

7. American History High School
WOW!!! This is our newest magnet school and I was shown around by the principal, Robert Gregory. I loved talking to groups of juniors. In one class I put a $500 challenge on the table. If they all keep journals with their goals and plans to meet them then I have to return in February with cash. I hope they rise to this additional challenge I laid down (I have challenged all juniors in Newark with the “Mayor’s Academic Challenge” which provides incentives to the class of 2010 to achieve in academics, attendance and service).

8. Oliver St. School
In a school building that is bursting at its seams and wholly inadequate for children to learn, this school is setting a high bar of achievement. I so appreciate their past success and I’m inspired by their teachers, staff and committed parents.

9. Wilson Avenue School
Another one of our high achieving schools in Newark that has an incredibly dynamic staff and student body – they have impressed me in previous years with some of their student clubs and I know they will have a great year.

10. George Washington Carver
Another k-8 school where principal Winston Jackson is in his fourth year. He pulled together local businesses and community to really roll out the red carpet for his kids and let them know that everyone was behind them, supporting them in their efforts to succeed. He shared some of his exciting ideas for the school year. I look forward to checking in on his progress.

11. Peshine Avenue School
My last school of the day BLEW ME AWAY. They get the award for most enthusiastic – they almost outdid me. Out of my car, I was met by organized rows of students standing proudly before their building. They answered my questions with strength and engaged me fully in our discussion of success. I am so encouraged by the principal Wanda Brooks-Long and wish her the best. She obviously commands the respect of her students.

On the Street with Minister Lee

My second to last meeting of the day was with one of my favorite community activists, Minister Maimie Lee, and Patrick, the superstar barber out on Central Avenue around 10th Street. For about 2 hours we set up a table and registered people to vote. I took a host of constituent inquiries and had a bunch of encouraging conversations about our City and the future of our country. Just standing on Central Avenue, talking to folks in the community, even praying some with Ms. Lee was a good (almost) end to my day.

I love Newark, I love our people and I’m so excited about our future

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 4:37 am and is filed under America's Youth, Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.