Laura Waters

Laura Waters is the founder and managing editor of New Jersey Education Report, formerly a senior writer/editor with brightbeam. Laura writes about New Jersey and New York education policy and politics. As the daughter of New York City educators and parent of a son with special needs, she writes frequently about the need to listen to families and ensure access to good public school options for all. She is based in New Jersey, where she and her husband have raised four children. She recently finished serving 12 years on her local school board in Lawrence, New Jersey, where she was president for nine of those years. Early in her career, she taught writing to low-income students of color at SUNY Binghamton through an Educational Opportunity Program.

Posts By Laura Waters

Diversity

Q&A With Sharif El-Mekki and Shareefah Mason: You Won't Retain Black Teachers Without Transforming Your School Culture

Shareefah Mason of Teach Plus and Sharif El-Mekki of the Center for Black Educator Development (CBED) believe that schools can only recruit and retain Black teachers—essential role models for...

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whole child

Q&A With Dr. Chad Gestson: Phoenix's Covid Numbers Transformed Our District for the Better

Dr. Chad Gestson leads the Phoenix Union High School District, which educates 29,000 students in 22 schools from 32 different ZIP codes in Arizona’s capital city. When the pandemic hit and health...

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IEP

Families Can't Afford for Schools to Continue to Treat Students With Disabilities Like an Afterthought

Every single thing we do is challenging. My kids are being forgotten. That’s Keri Akkawi, a Philadelphia mom of two boys with Fragile X Syndrome, a genetic mutation that can cause multiple...

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Parents

More Than One Million Parents Voted With Their Feet to Choose the Best Option For Their Family

A new report from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) finds that enrollment in district public schools dropped 3% from school years 2019-2020 to 2020-2021, the first full year of...

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whole child

Q&A: Selma's Superintendent Keeps Kids Learning, Even as COVID Rages

In 2017 Dr. Avis Williams came to Selma City Schools as its new superintendent, taking over an urban district where almost all students are economically disadvantaged and struggle academically. Due...

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Charter Schools

At Freedom School Literacy Academy, Black Pride and Academic Achievement Go Hand-in-Hand

Erika Asikoye is the Director of the Freedom School Literacy Academy (FSLA) at The Center for Black Educator Development in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The FSLA, for the third consecutive summer, is...

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