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N.J. education chief overturns public, non-public sports split

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DECEMBER 28, 2015, 5:38 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015, 6:44 AM
BY GREGORY SCHUTTA
STAFF WRITER  |
THE RECORD

Years of debate. Months of meetings. Weeks of hand-wringing.

And in the end, athletes, coaches and officials of New Jersey high school sports find themselves right back where they started.

In a momentous announcement Monday, state Commissioner of Education David Hespe reversed controversial votes this month by state athletics’ governing body to separate public and non-public schools in football and on the road to the state wrestling tournament.

Related:  Landmark vote splits N.J. H.S. football along public/non-public lines

The decision forces the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association and school officials to yet again seek a lasting solution to the longest-running issue plaguing high school sports in the state: the competitive imbalance between public and non-public school teams.

“I’m disappointed,” said River Dell Athletic Director Denis Nelson, a strong proponent of the separation proposal in football. “The strategic and competitive advantage non-public schools have is going to continue. I don’t think it’s fair. I don’t think it’s right. But it is in existence.”

“We’re back to where we were,” said Bergen Catholic Athletic Director Jack McGovern. “I don’t know that that’s a great place. But now we know the parameters we have to work with, and we will continue to try to make it better.”

https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/n-j-education-chief-overturns-public-non-public-split-1.1481525

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N.J. education chief to unveil plans for review of academic standards

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TRENTON – The state’s top education official said Wednesday that he will unveil plans next month for a sweeping review of academic standards to answer Governor Christie’s call for an overhaul. (Adely/The Record)

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-education-chief-to-unveil-plans-for-review-of-academic-standards-1.1348111

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PARCC Proficiency Test Is Good For Students, N.J. Education Chief Says

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PARCC Proficiency Test Is Good For Students, N.J. Education Chief Says

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Some New Jersey parents have come out so strongly against a new computer-based math and language arts test that they have refused to allow their children to take the exam – but state education officials have rushed to its defense.

As CBS2’s Christine Sloan reported Tuesday, the state’s largest teachers’ union is also against the exam — called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers – PARCC for short.

But New Jersey state Education Commissioner David Hespe said the students will benefit from being challenged by the exams. (CBS News)

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/02/10/cbs2-exclusive-n-j-education-chief-says-controversial-exam-is-good-for-students/