{"id":2737,"date":"2024-05-14T14:57:19","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T14:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/school-of-education\/the-central-new-jersey-consortium-for-excellence-and-equity\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T12:57:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T17:57:02","slug":"cjcee","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/school-of-education\/centers-academies\/cjcee\/","title":{"rendered":"The Central Jersey Consortium for Excellence and Equity 2025-2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Register for Your 202<\/strong>5-2026 Membership<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Central Jersey Consortium for Excellence and Equity (CJCEE) is an evolving collaboration of administrators, teachers, support staff, parents, and elementary and secondary students that are collectively committed to learning and working together to enhance the achievement and well-being of all students, as well as increasing the academic performance, engagement, and future success of traditionally underachieving students. CJCEE focuses on inter-district collaboration and shared learning for continuous improvement in eliminating the disparities in achievement and school engagement among students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Founded by Lynn Romeo, Ed.D., former dean of the School of Education and associate professor emeritus, along with James Stefankiewicz, Ed.D., superintendent of Township of Ocean School District, the CJCEE has been in operation since 2012. Tina Paone, Ph.D., professor of Educational Counseling, coordinates the program for the School of Education. For information on the consortium, contact the School of Education, Certification, Field Placements & School Partnership Office at CJCEE@monmouth.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

2025-2026 Topic of the Year<\/h2>\n\n

Making it All Work: What Educators Need to Survive & Thrive in Today\u2019s Society<\/h3>\n\n

Meet This Year\u2019s Speaker: Cornelius Minor<\/h4>\n\n\n
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Cornelius Minor is a Brooklyn-based educator and part-time Pok\u00e9mon trainer. He works with teachers, school leaders, and leaders of community-based organizations to support equitable literacy reform in cities (and sometimes villages) across the globe. His latest book, “We Got This”, explores how the work of creating more equitable school spaces is embedded in our everyday choices\u2014specifically in the choice to really listen to kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cornelius has been featured in Education Week<\/em>, Brooklyn Magazine<\/em>, and Teaching Tolerance<\/em> magazine. He has partnered with the New York City Department of Education, the International Literacy Association, Scholastic, and Lesley University\u2019s Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative. “Out of Print”, a documentary featuring Cornelius, made its way around the film festival circuit, and he has been a featured speaker at conferences all over the world. He is a dedicated hip-hop fan, and on some evenings, you can find him online saving the universe with his PlayStation or on paper saving the realm in Dungeons & Dragons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most recently, along with his partner and wife, Kass Minor, he has established The Minor Collective, a community-based movement designed to foster sustainable change in schools. Whether working with educators and kids in Los Angeles, Seattle, or New York City, Cornelius uses his love for technology, literature, and social media to bring communities together. As a teacher, Cornelius draws not only on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days, Cornelius is learning how to bake from his two young children, searching for an elusive pair of Jordan IVs, and is ritually re-reading all of the 1990\u2019s era comic books that he can find.<\/p>\n\n\n

District Teams<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

Each district should create an equity team to attend each of the sessions. The team members will work together the entire year. It is highly recommended that the equity team remain the same throughout the year. Additionally, the equity team should include adult mentors that will assist the students with their projects and attend both student conferences.<\/p>\n\n\n

Who should be on our equity team?<\/h3>\n\n\n

Your team should consist of administrators, classroom teachers, specialists, school counselors, school social workers, and support staff. Team members should be interested in the topic of social justice and come ready to work. These team members will also serve as the individuals mentoring and assisting the students in the work they will do over the year.<\/p>\n\n\n

Which students should we send?<\/h3>\n\n\n

Selected students should be leaders who are committed to and interested in social justice work. These students will work with the adult team that will be representing your district. Students will be expected to attend two conferences (October and June) and implement district set goals at the student level.<\/p>\n\n\n

Information about our 2025-2026 sessions<\/h3>\n\n\n

The CJCEE team sessions will be two-and-a-half hours (9:30 a.m.\u201312 p.m.) in a virtual setting. Sessions are organized to facilitate the work of district teams to accomplish specific goals for the district. Therefore, the overarching purpose is to apply what is learned in the CJCEE sessions to your work with diversity in the schools. Student sessions will take place in person from 9:15 a.m.\u20131 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n

2025-2026 Membership<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n

The membership includes fifteen (15) adult team members (administers, teachers, counselors, staff, etc.) and ten (10) student participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yearly Membership<\/strong>: The membership fee for the CJCEE for the 2025-2026 academic year is $2,800.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Become a Member for the 202<\/strong>5-2026 Academic Year<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Session Dates<\/h3>\n\n\n
 <\/strong>Session<\/th>Date<\/strong><\/th>Time<\/th>Location<\/th>Group<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Session 1 kickoff<\/strong><\/td>Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025<\/td>9:15 a.m.\u20131 p.m.<\/td>Monmouth University, main campus<\/td>Team members and students<\/td><\/tr>
Session 2<\/strong><\/td>Monday, Nov. 17, 2025<\/td>9:30 a.m.\u201312 p.m.<\/td>Virtual<\/td>Team members<\/td><\/tr>
Session 3<\/strong><\/td>Monday, Dec. 1, 2025<\/td>9:30 a.m.\u201312 p.m.<\/td>Virtual<\/td>Team members<\/td><\/tr>
Session 4<\/strong><\/td>Monday, March 2, 2026<\/td>9:30 a.m.\u201312 p.m.<\/td>Virtual<\/td>Team members<\/td><\/tr>
Session 5<\/strong><\/td>Monday, April 20, 2026<\/td>9:30 a.m.\u201312 p.m.<\/td>Virtual<\/td>Team members<\/td><\/tr>
Session 6<\/strong><\/td>Monday, May 18, 2026<\/td>9:15 a.m.\u20131 p.m.<\/td>Monmouth University, main campus<\/td>Team members and students<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n

Follow CJCEE on Social Media<\/h2>\n\n\n