CHERRY HILL, N.J., Feb. 20, 2025 -- Wake Up Call NJ, a non-partisan, nonprofit educational advocacy organization founded by Laura Overdeck and Peter Shulman, this week launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign across New Jersey.
The mission of this campaign is to awaken every citizen, parent and taxpayer in the state to the inconvenient truths about the quality of New Jersey's public schools and boost demand for transparency.
Shulman says, "It's both shocking and unsurprising that many people believe New Jersey schools are great. Parents see As and Bs on their kids' report cards - while at the same time, according to the state's own Department of Education, statewide test results show that in most of our districts - even the so-called 'good' ones - up to half of students are performing below grade level."
Overdeck, producer of an upcoming feature film about robotics and author of four children's math books, has worried for years about the decline in math scores across the state, "When over half of our fourth graders can't do math at grade level, and two thirds of those behind never catch up, how can our grades and graduation rates not reflect this?" she said. "We blame the process, not the people. While lots of dedicated individuals work in education, too many parents aren't hearing the truth about their child's academic well-being."
The first round of Wake Up Call ads highlights these gaps in New Jersey's student achievement. You can view it here
"Simply put," says Overdeck, "It's time for every stakeholder in New Jersey education — parents, grandparents, taxpayers — to get a wake up call. The message is simple: our kids aren't learning as much as parents are told they are. And unfortunately, nothing will be done about it until everyone understands the scope of the problem."
The advertising campaign will be broadcast across multiple platforms — deployed on billboards, in train stations and on traditional and social media outlets across the state.
More advertising is planned throughout the spring, as the organization continues to engage parents and taxpayers to demand honesty and transparency from our schools and state leaders. "We are building out wakeupcallnj.com and our social media channels to be information hubs, where all concerned citizens can grasp the overall problem, access school performance data, and learn what parents can ask the teachers and principal in their kids' school," said Shulman.
"We're going to be around for as long as it takes to make change in the Garden State." Shulman continued, "We can fix this problem, working together."
Wake Up Call is co-founded by longtime New Jersey education advocates Laura Overdeck, president of Bedtime Math and cofounder of New Jersey Tutoring Corps, and Peter Shulman, a former NJ Deputy Commissioner with the NJ Department of Education. Their effort includes the voices of teachers, parents, school administrators, Democrats, Republicans, and independents.
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