Should all children have the same state benefits, whether they attend public or private school? In the areas of nursing care, textbooks, technology and security, could New Jersey be doing more to help our students?

“The issue we’re all rallied around is education affordability and portability,” said Josh Pruzansky, a Teaneck resident who is also the New Jersey regional director of the OU Advocacy Center. “Our students are receiving less education aid than they should be receiving. We are getting less per student than we were 10 years ago, and there is no funding for school security at all for private school students.”

Teach-NJ Students, a new advocacy group that launched Wednesday evening at Congregation Rinat Yisrael, is modeled on the successful Teach-NY program, as well as other state programs, that the OU spearheaded over the last several years. The goal of the grassroots movement is to drastically increase state funding for our children’s educations.

These are fairness issues, and health and safety issues. Statewide, schools, Jewish federations and organizations have already begun organizing together as a broad-based coalition of interested parents and community members.

“We are starting in the Jewish community but hopefully others will pick this up as well,” said Pruzansky.

Teach-NJS will be involved in advocacy on all levels, in terms of encouraging voting for candidates who support the group’s goals, reaching out individually to legislators and even going to Trenton on missions, “like NORPAC on a state level,” he said.

The Jewish Link is proud to support Teach-NJ Students. As parents, we’re committing to be more politically active and visible on this topic. We want the elected officials who represent us to understand that the education of our children is our main priority and that we are part of this grassroots movement to get more from New Jersey for our children.