Natasha Alvarado
Natasha Alvarado was a candidate for at-large member on the Newark Public Schools Advisory Board in New Jersey. She was defeated in the general election on April 21, 2015.
In the race for three at-large seats, Alvarado faced seven opponents, including the "Children First Team" slate of Marques-Aquil Lewis, Dashay Carter and Crystal Fonseca. The slate was formed by Mayor Ras J. Baraka.
Biography
Alvarado attended district schools and went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Montclair School University. She works as a human resources staff assistant at the university, where she deals with financial aid eligibility and assesses student accounts. Alvarado volunteers in district schools through NJIT Upward Bound program.[1]
Elections
2015
- See also: Newark Public Schools elections (2015)
Three of the nine seats on the Newark Advisory Board were up for election on April 21, 2015. Only one incumbent, Marques-Aquil Lewis, filed to run for re-election. He faced the following seven challengers on the general election ballot: Natasha Alvarado, Veronica Branch, Dashay Carter, Crystal Fonseca, Ronnie Kellam, Charles Love III, and Sheila Montague. Lewis, Carter, and Fonseca were chosen for Mayor Ras J. Barak's "Children First Team" slate.[2]
Michael Diaz and Ivan Holmes also filed to run in this election but did not appear on the ballot. Holmes withdrew from the race and Diaz was disqualified.[3]
The Baraka-backed candidates Lewis, Carter, and Fonseca, won the three seat up for election.
Results
| Newark Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Crystal Fonseca |
21.9% | 3,745 | |
| Nonpartisan | Marques-Aquil Lewis Incumbent |
21.8% | 3,729 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dashay Carter |
19.4% | 3,311 | |
| Nonpartisan | Charles Love III | 11.4% | 1,955 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sheila Montague | 10.1% | 1,729 | |
| Nonpartisan | Veronica Branch | 9.6% | 1,637 | |
| Nonpartisan | Natasha Alvarado | 3.4% | 584 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ronnie Kellam | 2% | 347 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 63 | |
| Total Votes | 17,100 | |||
| Source: Essex County Clerk, "2015 School Board Election," April 27, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Alvarado reported no contributions or expenditures to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission as of April 17, 2015.[4]
Endorsements
Alvarado received no official endorsements as of April 2, 2015.
Campaign themes
2015
Alvarado provided the following statements on her campaign website:
| “ | Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College & Careers
Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers is a computerized exam, and a new alternative that is replacing the NJASK and HSPA exams. The exam is composed under a new structure with the purpose to measure and quickly identify the progress of our children. PARCC is a new technology based exam, so it has advantages and disadvantages. Some students and teachers found the new method of testing confusing and felt that it was introduced too soon to the district. The new testing has also received much criticism because it presented technical complications of repeatedly freezing screens. However, PARCC provides the opportunity of easy and speedy feedback to teachers in regards to student progress allowing teachers to supplement instruction in areas of weakness shared in the classroom. The test also gears to help students for college readiness. School District Assigning Schools Recently, the Newark Public Schools have adopted a universal enrollment program called One Newark. This program assigns students to public and most charter schools entitled to one application. School fairs are conducted to where elementary, middle, and high schools showcase themselves and students rank their choices. This new system allows students to see all their options before selecting the right school for them. Since some programs are not offered in some schools, students in the same family and/or neighborhood will have to attend schools further away from home. This system allows students to have a choice in the selection process but it also increases their morning commute, to which some have shared it takes over an hour relying on public transportation. Communication Between NPS & The Community Newark Public Schools is composed of about 35,000 students and over 6,000 employees. The school system is a large community within our city so the communication with families, staff, and students should be presented in a manner that informs all. We can improve communication with new ideas. For example, recently a child was presented with meningitis in one of our schools earlier this year. The lack of a communication system did not allow the parents to be informed of the opportunities presented with the Jewish Renaissance Medical Center . A set of new ideas and system should be set in place to enable the community to understand the current issues and concerns of the district that provides the opportunity to address them. Drop Out Rate The high school dropout rates in urban districts like Newark are consistently high. New Jersey’s overall graduation rate has demonstrated to be on the rise with 87.5 % according to the state but Newark requires our attention. Statistics reveal that in December of 2013, the city of Newark has a graduation rate of 67.7 %. It is important to note that this percentage has increased but it remains a concern for the community. After all, studies reveal that an elevated high school dropout rate is bad for the economy. This is due to the fact that a poorly educated workforce is less likely to attract business and less business leads to a smaller tax base. One of many results is higher public-benefit costs, and an environment that is prone to crime. Therefore, to create an environment of opportunity we must deliver ideas to decrease or eliminate the dropout rate. Gang Affiliation When students hear the school closing bell, it signals the end of the day where some students start to an afternoon without supervision, productivity, and instruction. After-school hours are peak time for juvenile crimes and risky behaviors, including alcohol and drug use. According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, children that do not participate in after school activities are 49 percent more likely to have used drugs and 37 percent more likely to become a teen parent. In addition, it is noted that the highest amount of juvenile crimes occurs between 3pm and 4pm, which is also the hour that most children are dismissed from school. This is of major concern when our city currently battles with issues such as gang related crime and it is imperative that as a city we acknowledge that afterschool programs provide an alternative option for our students.[5] |
” |
| —Natasha Alvarado's campaign website (2015)[6] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Natasha Alvarado Newark Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Newark Public Schools, New Jersey
- Newark Public Schools elections (2015)
- Baraka-backed "Children First Team" dominates Newark's school election (April 22, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Natasha Alvarado - 2015 Newark Public Schools Advisory Board Candidate, "About," accessed April 2, 2015
- ↑ NJ.com, "Ten candidates sign up for Newark school board race," March 4, 2015
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Martha A. Jones, Newark Public Schools," April 14, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "View a Candidate or Election Related Committee Report," accessed April 17, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Natasha Alvarado -2015 Newark Public Schools Advisory Board Candidate, "Issues," April 13, 2015
| 2015 Newark Public Schools Elections | |
| Essex County, New Jersey | |
| Election date: | April 21, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Marques-Aquil Lewis • Natasha Alvarado • Veronica Branch • Dashay Carter • Michael Diaz • Crystal Fonsica • Ivan Holmes • Ronnie Kellam • Charles Love III • Sheila Montague |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
