Five years after his famous donation, the Facebook founder reflected on it.
NEWARK -- Five years after he donated $100 million to Newark schools with the lofty goal of transforming the long-troubled district, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is reflecting on what has gone well, and what hasn't.
Friday, Zuckerberg took to (where else?) Facebook to point out what he says has improved in Newark since the high-profile donation, and recognizes the "challenges, mistakes and honest differences among people with good intentions," that arose from it.
"It's very important to understand the desires of a community, to listen and learn from families, teachers, elected officials and other experts," he said in the post.
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"We now better understand why it can take years to build the support to durably cement the changes needed to provide every student with a high quality education."
The post comes a few months after the release of Dale Russakoff's book, "The Prize: Who's in Charge of America's Schools?" which detailed the reform movement in Newark schools, and its mixed results. In the book, Russakoff calls the donation "a wash," saying some students are now better off, and some aren't.
Zuckerberg cited several improvements in the district since the donation, like higher graduation rates and the higher rankings its charter schools have earned.
The district has recently garnered a lot of attention, with the ouster of state-appointed Superintendent Cami Anderson and the promise that after 20 years, it will start to transition from state back to local control.
While Newarkers are fully backing the transition, Zuckerberg said he and his wife are committed to financial supporting education reform across the country. They will use lessons learned in Newark when managing the $120 million donation they recently made to San Francisco Bay area schools, he said.
"Change in education takes time and requires a long term focus. We are committed to working to improve public education for many years to come, and to improving our approach as we go," he wrote.
Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
