From Morristown National Historical Park

Student artists from Westside High School, Newark, New Jersey found their park at Morristown! After viewing their Dream Rocket exhibit, these talented teens wanted to explore the site that inspired their art...they had a little fun in the process!

The Morristown Dream Rocket theme is Ingenuity in the Face of Adversity, and our Westside artists were especially creative with their interpretations of what that means.
 

Hiking the yellow trail from the Wick House to the soldier huts with Ranger Gilson.

Before students even visited our site, they were given a

1) Newark Public Schools Workers Vote to Join Teachers Union  - 189 unaffiliated NPS staff have voted to join the Newark Teachers Union!  On Oct 31, the Public Employee Relations Commission certified the vote and rejected Newark Public Schools arguments against recognizing the new members’ right to join a union.  This is a huge victory and we will be meeting with this staff next week to discuss next steps.

2)  NTU LGBTQIA Meet and Greet - School districts nationwide are facing increased concerns over giving voice, protection, and resources to their LGBTQIA students, and staff. The Newark

Colleagues,

1)     Wilson Avenue School – Last week, a fuel oil leak was discovered at Wilson Ave School. As in all similar circumstances, the NTU had representatives on site and also dispatched V.P. and Sec Treasurer Michael Iovino to the school to speak with Administrators and staff and assist in communication. NTU President John Abeigon also visited the site twice and spoke with officials who explained the cleanup process and assured us that the building is safe to occupy.

Initial recommendations from health officials regarding the oil leak at Wilson Ave were that the school did not warrant

Colleagues,

1) Local Control Update: The NTU and our community partners posted an Op-Ed piece on NJ Spotlight about the return to local control. It is a great read about the concerns as we move forward.  Returning to local control was a huge victory, but that doesn’t mean we can all rest on our laurels. The district and the NTU will be going through a huge transition in the upcoming months. More information to come.

2) Arbitration Award Update: A lot of people have asked when the arbitration awards will be paid out. Typically in these cases, the district has 90 days to confirm the decision. Our