NEWS

New Jersey Newsroom: Corzine views Obama address to students with children at new Camden school
September 8, 2009


Gov. Jon Corzine joined a class of students in a new Camden elementary school Tuesday to watch President Obama's address to the nation's schoolchildren.

The governor described the speech as, "The right message to send kids to make sure we have a brighter future in our state and our nation."

Asked about political criticism of the speech, Corzine reiterated his comments from last week, saying, "If a message that staying in school and working hard is a political agenda, then I agree with the president's agenda."

Corzine viewed the address at H.B. Wilson Elementary School

The governor also cited a recent report by the National Center for Education Statistics that shows New Jersey is one of only three states to narrow the achievement gap between black and white students in fourth grade reading and one of only 15 states to narrow the gap in fourth grade math between 1992 and 2007.

"We have a moral commitment to improve educational opportunities for the children of Camden and throughout New Jersey," Corzine said. "These results are a clear validation of our state's intense focus and commitment to preschool and early literacy interventions over the past few years and of our shared commitment to early childhood education."

Between 1992 and 2007, the reading score gap between white and black New Jersey students in fourth grade dropped from a high of 40 points in 1994 to 26 points in 2007. The biggest change came between 2005 and 2007, when the gap decreased from 33 points to 26 points. In math, the fourth-grade gap dropped from 38 points in 1992 to 23 points in 2007. In both subjects, the scores for white and minority students increased between 1992 and 2007, indicating that minority students made larger gains to close the gap. Both white and black students score above the national average for their group.

State investment in education has increased by more than $1.8 billion, including federal funds, under Corzine.

Wilson Elementary School, built in 1907, and Camden's Thomas H. Dudley Elementary School, erected in 1904, are the two oldest schools replaced by the state. The state has increased the capacity of student seats20at new schools it has funded to 9,000, representing an investment of $575 million.

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM