Fixing schools
May 20, 2014 (WABC) -- I'll be the first to admit I'm a bit baffled by what's happening in Newark. Tonight, what's billed as the "Newark Promise" is holding a rally that may or may not escalate into civil disobedience. They want to present their "alternative plan" for education at a public school system that for years has been controlled by the state.
The system was bad under local control. It's bad under state control. The answer is not readily apparent, but it will be interesting to see what the alternative plan is, and what it proposes.
Fixing schools - whether it's in Newark or in New York City - is step one towards fixing just about everything.
Get kids early education, keep them in school (the dropout rate for African American boys in New York City hovers at or just near 50 percent), get them jobs and the system might work. Crime drops, prison population goes down, kids get educated and become productive, revenue-producing citizens.
How much crime is generated by an empty stomach, or a guy with a desperate checking account? Just sayin'.
We're in Newark for the rally tonight at 11.
We'll have any breaking news of the night, plus Meteorologist Lee Goldberg's AccuWeather forecast, and Rob Powers with the night's sports. I hope you can join Sade Baderinwa and me, tonight at 11.
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