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

Special Education

Seriously, Betsy? The Civil Rights Act

On Friday U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos released a statement celebrating the 56th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, passed in 1957 by a Republican-controlled Congress despite opposition by...

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whole child

Q&A: Zakiya Sankara-Jabar on Why Now Is the Perfect Time for #SeekingChildJustice

“I want to protect my children from the system that destroyed my parents.” That’s Zakiya Sankara-Jabar, National Director of Activism at brightbeam, my new colleague and host of a virtual town hall...

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IEP

My Son Cracked the Code in an Atypical Way With a Focus on Phonics

When my three older children learned to read, it seemed to us as natural a process as learning to talk. We read to them every day and filled the house with children’s books and made regular trips to...

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School Funding

DeVos Released $3 Billion in Education Emergency Funds to State Governors. Too Bad It's Not Enough.

On April 3, Governors Asa Hutchinson and Jay Inslee sent a letter on behalf of all the nation’s governors to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos pleading with her to release the education funds embedded...

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COVID-19

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' Guidance Is All Over the Place

Color her fickle. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos can’t seem to steer a steady course as she leads 55 million K-12 public school students and their parents, as well as America’s four million...

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IEP

Gavin's Story Shines a Light on the Inequities Special Needs Students Face With Remote Learning

Ten-year-old Gavin Williams is a lively and affectionate youngster who loves to visit museums, experiment with computer-coding and plunge into ocean waves with his boogie-board. Gavin is also a...

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