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Mark Weber

@jerseyjazzman.bsky.social
847 followers 198 following 1K posts

Education policy analyst, teacher, musician. Lecturer, Rutgers University Grad School of Education. @njpolicy.bsky.social @shankerinst.bsky.social NEPC Fellow. Jazz pianist and composer. Music educator.

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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Yeah, but SHE had such an annoying laugh...
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Take a walk/run along the lake, then head to Heid's for a coney. If you don't mind a little snow, it really is a nice place full of nice people. www.rd.com/article/live...
rd.com
A Tiny Village in New York Spread Charity Far and Wide—And Became 2026’s Nicest Place in America
What began as a mission to help strangers thousands of miles away has grown into a community where lending a hand is simply a way of life.
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Have Philly sports fans had a week as bad as this one is turning into?
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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Over a decade later - America's (still) most financially screwed school districts schoolfinance101.com/2026/09/26/a...
schoolfinance101.com
America’s Most Financially Disadvantaged (e.g. Still Screwed) School Districts, 2022–2024
A decade after I last published these lists, 47 districts with at least 2,000 students still have more than 1.5 times the child poverty rate of their labor market and spend less than 90% of what th…
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
“I like the idea that we could bring back an America where it’s embarrassing for wealthy people to say, ‘Even though I could afford this, and it will improve public services in our state, I’d rather fight it,’” Mr. Jennings said. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/u...
nytimes.com
Washington Taxed Its Millionaires. Now the Rich Want It Repealed.
Washington State voters will get a chance to accept or reject the 9.9 percent income tax on millionaires approved by the Legislature, which broke the state’s taboo against levying income taxes.
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Sweet Christmas...
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Dear airport/airline staff: please don't touch my cell phone. Definitely don't grab it out of my hand. Aside from being rude, I don't know you and where you've been. Frankly, you don't know me, why would you want to touch my stuff?
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
34 percent annual increases for teacher health insurance are not sustainable. newjerseymonitor.com/2026/09/25/n...
newjerseymonitor.com
After state warning, NJ panel approves 34% health premium hike for teachers • New Jersey Monitor
The vote to hike teachers’ health benefit rates came after a state warning that benefits may be halted in the new year without an agreement.
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Phil McDuff @mcduff.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This isn't an AI thing, but it explains why executives think AI is great. They *already* live like they have been kicked in the head by a horse. They already have a group of people making sure they've wiped their ass. They already don't have exposure to negative consequences.
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Central NJ Yimby 🏗️🚲🚇🇺🇸 @princetonyimby.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Based on the report commissioned by NJ Governor Mikie Sherrill, it seems like her second-in-command, Lt Gov Dale Caldwell, is absolute toast. Toast. She has given him until the morning to resign, and published the ethics report, which includes stuff like this: www.nj.gov/governor/doc...
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I pay money for this "news." I'm the problem.
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Ka. Boom.
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Anna Gifty @itsafronomics.blacksky.app · 20/09/2026
I guess my question while reading this was: why the insistence that individual proximity would have addressed systemic gaps?
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Ann Owens @annowens.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Sitting with this story by Nikole Hannah-Jones www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/m... Our Segregation Tracking Project data illuminate stubborn segregation in NYC schools (and many other places) and show how schools don't look like their n'hoods as White parents opt out edopportunity.org/segregation/...
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Jeremy Singer @jeremylsinger.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Some helpful datapoints on the NYC schools discussed here--providing context for the role of entrenched social and economic inequalities. Data from NYC (tools.nycenet.edu/dashboard/) and NY state (data.nysed.gov/downloads.php) 🧵
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I don't normally go to Elmo's fascistic bulletin board, but someone here posted a screenshot of some guy claiming Nikole Hannah-Jones's daughter's elementary school spent $52K/year per pupil. That's not true (see: apps.schools.nyc/dsbpo/sbag/d...) but even if it was, there would be a good...
apps.schools.nyc
School Budget At A Glance
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
FWIW: I don't think it's realistic to expect to solve chronic problems with school segregation solely through the individual actions of parents, no matter how well intentioned. A much larger political project is required.
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Central NJ Yimby 🏗️🚲🚇🇺🇸 @princetonyimby.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I don't have any comment on Nikole Hannah Jones's schooling choices, but I will note that the public school system in New Jersey has been judged to be unacceptably segregated and the state is refusing to propose remedies... newjerseymonitor.com/2026/05/12/n...
newjerseymonitor.com
NJ Supreme Court won’t weigh in yet on school segregation case • New Jersey Monitor
A group of plaintiffs first claimed in 2018 that NJ schools are impermissibly segregated. The case is now before the appellate division.
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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
An animation of national school funding adequacy from 2009 to 2024 - against the cost of achieving national average reading and math scores between 2013 & 2015
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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I’m excited to share that The Scarcity Loop: How School Choice Reshapes the Rationing of Public Education is officially out in the world. It seemed important to find a slice.
Scarcity loop book dragging a pizza slice up subway stairs
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17/09/2026
I know I am not the median voter. But when I watch Trump performances like the one we just endured in North Carolina, I can't escape the feeling that our problems go much deeper than "affordability" and we're whistling past the graveyard if we reduce our politics to that issue.
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August J. Pollak @augustjpollak.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
“I think adults bullying and demanding to see children’s’ genitals on command is bad.” Look at that. It’s that easy.
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Cara Jackson @carajackson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This is a very clear explanation of why measures matter. Also, yikes 😬
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Free advice for the Bennett campaign: CD7 is a swing district, sure. But "both-siding" isn't going to cut it this time; frankly, it makes you look no different than Kean. The problem is Trump, and if Kean is reelected there is no way to stop him. That should be the message, IMO.
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"In one case, however, the proficiency rate for Algebra 2 took a major swing, to 45.5% in 2026 from 80.4% in 2025." Why even have proficiency rates, then, when they can vary so much depending on the whims of the rate setters? WHAT IS THE POINT?! www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/09/gloo...
njspotlightnews.org
Gloomy first look at math, literacy test scores for grades 3-9 | NJ Spotlight News
Higher-level algebra may be a trouble spot, data suggest, while most students in lower grades fail to hit reading mark
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AERA @aeraedresearch.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A new article in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis finds that consequences of redlining persist, with districts with a high concentration of formerly D-graded neighborhoods raising less local revenue & relying disproportionately on state and federal aid. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Great analogy:
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August J. Pollak @augustjpollak.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
There's never talk about "fairness" when some schools have fencing teams and pools and computer labs and some schools hold classes in trailers. Never about how 1 in 9 schoolchildren live in poverty. But it's always a "fairness" issue when a school has a trans athlete or too many black students.
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Guy who claimed charter schools in Chicago found the "secret sauce." Do we really want a guy who will believe just about anything as POTUS?
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Ben Williamson @benpatrickwill.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"Research in secondary schools ... found personalised and adaptive systems could be “very demotivating and kind of soulless experiences”, particularly for students with special educational needs and disabilities or those struggling academically." www.tes.com/magazine/new...
tes.com
Schools ‘desperate’ for clearer AI guidance
School leaders are struggling to respond to the rapid growth of AI, Commons Education Select Committee told
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
An entire politics and worldview animated by a lively terror that somewhere, somebody might be eating a free cheese sandwich
Sharron Davies HoL MBE O
@sharrond62
x.com
Accept they're not free really are they? The cost the tax payer, when giving children a breakfast can be achieved for 50p at home. The cost to the tax payer is far far higher per breakfast than
50p
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Jeremy Singer @jeremylsinger.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Ever since the pandemic, we've had a school attendance crisis...right? I have a new essay arguing that the "crisis" narrative is a bit overblown, and may be distracting us from longer-standing issues that predate the pandemic: edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1574 🧵
School Attendance in the United States, 1870-2024
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Katie Brennan @katiebrennan.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Statement on the Investigation into Lt. Governor Dale Caldwell:
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
If there is one thing I wish I could get every politician to understand about education, it might be this, from @mattbarnum.bsky.social newsletter. And, no, eduwonks, trust me, they do NOT get this, even though (to you) it's obvious.
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Jenn Borgioli Binis @jennbinis.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I've talked to a few education folks who remain on X. A few believe they're in a walled off garden, away from the right wing content and others said they see the benefits outweighing any downside. I'd be curious about their thoughts on this.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 07/09/2026
If I were emperor for a day, one change I'd make: In every political race, at every level, at least the *first* debate would be replaced by a simple test of knowledge. How do taxes work? What agency is responsible for what? Is your area growing or shrinking in population? Just basic stuff.
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Anne Lutz Fernandez @lutzfernandez.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This is a win for Alpha Schools: access to public monies with far less oversight than they would have even as a charter.
texastribune.org
Alpha School eligible for Texas voucher money despite rejected charter bid - The Texas Tribune
Alpha School quadrupled its Texas private school campuses. Most are eligible for state dollars through the new voucher program.
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Larry Ferlazzo @larryferlazzo.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
As millions of kids lose SNAP food benefits, free school meals are also at risk www.npr.org/2026/09/03/n...
npr.org
As millions of kids lose SNAP food benefits, free school meals are also at risk
Food stamps have a direct link to other critical resources, such as free breakfast and lunch at school. Now, experts say they're starting to see that link break.
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I read this floodlightnews.org/new-jersey-d... about a data center in NJ operating without permits and spewing CO2 near two schools. Which got me wondering: Who are the students affected? I'll bet you already know the answer: Students of color living in economic disadvantage.
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Jessica Luther @jessicawluther.com · 26/08/2026
“The WNBA will not institute a league-wide ban on Freedom, according to a source with knowledge of the decision.” They are trying to lose me and it’s going to work the way this is going.
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Josh Cowen @joshcowenmi.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Horrific. And Un-American. The entire right-wing education reform network was at the White House yesterday—will a single person denounce a back-to-school message based on a bus full of children in chains?
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Peter Greene @palan57.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Report: Teachers Are Being Squeezed Financially via @forbes.com www.forbes.com/sites/peterg...
forbes.com
Report: Teachers Are Being Squeezed Financially
If policy makers are truly concerned about a teacher shortage, this seems like an area to address directly and decisively.
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Joel @itsjoels.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.
Sorry, I can’t type that.
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Library of Congress @librarycongress.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The Library is devastated to learn of the passing of Dolly Parton, a music legend and titan of children's literacy. Her Imagination Library program has earned multiple Library Literacy Awards and, in 2018, she visited us to donate its 100 millionth book to our collection and host a story time. 🦋❤️
Dolly Parton reads to children in the Library’s Great Hall in 2018. Photo by Shawn Miller.
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Everyone questioning whether Darline Graham is smart enough to be in the Senate is making me smile. You mean in comparison to the intellectual powerhouses already there? Like Tommy Tuberville? Marsha Blackburn? Ron Johnson? John Fetterman?
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Mina Kimes @minakimes.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Loser behavior from a guy who’s clinging like a shriveled old barnacle to a sport he doesn’t actually care about in a desperate bid for relevance. Do not cede one inch to him or anyone who acts this way.
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Any of these transphobic idiots who tell you they respect women's sports is full of crap.
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
@phillies.com UNBELIEVABLE!!!
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
To be fair, nonsense like this about the purported effectiveness of computerized instruction has been around for years, well before McMahon stumbled into her current job. Her pitch differs little from many reformies who've been pitching cyber charters.
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Mark Weber @jerseyjazzman.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
"Birds of a feather flock together..."
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