The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy serves as one of the nation's key centers for the theory and practice of planning and public policy scholarship and analysis. As part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the school capitalizes on the strength and resources of this major research university. Read more...
Message from the Dean
As the Great Recession recedes into history, the planning and public policy world is experiencing a series of evolving challenges and dilemmas in its aftermath. Read more...
School Mission
The Bloustein School is committed to a rebirth of the public-service ethic in the United States. The ethic focuses on good civic design in its broadest Read more...
Our Location
New Brunswick, New Jersey is one of the state's most significant areas for education and health care. The city is home to Rutgers' largest regional campus Read more...
As you enter the main doors of the buiding, the Bloustein School is on the left. Go through the double doors to access the elevators.
Please contact the Office of the Dean if you have questions about the directions or would like a copy of the directions faxed to you.
Our public policy program, accredited by NASPAA, has world renowned expertise in social policy, community development and many other areas. Read more...
Planning is future-oriented and comprehensive. It seeks to link knowledge and action in ways that improve the quality of public and private development Read more...
Rutgers' Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy was founded in the belief that public universities have a responsibility to apply knowledge to social purpose. Read more...
The Bloustein School offers undergraduate major and minor programs of study in planning and public policy (762) and public health (832). The School educates a highly select pool of students... Read more...
Dr. Curenton studies the social, cognitive, and language development of low-income and minority children within various ecological contexts, such as parent-child interactions, early childhood education programs, the early childhood workforce, and related state and federal policies. She serves as the associate editor for Early Childhood Research Quarterly, and past associate and guest editor of Early Education and Development. Her research has been funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Program Research and Evaluation, the National Academy of Science, Ford Predoctoral Fellowship, American Education Research Association, and the Foundation for Child Development. She worked as a policy fellow in the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care through a Society for Research on Child Development/American Association for the Advancement of Science Policy Fellowship. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental and Community Psychology from the University of Virginia. Dr. Curenton has been recognized as a national leader in the early education field through her appointment to the governing board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). For more information about her projects, click on the tabs above.
November 15, 2011 Improving Impacts of Classrooms: Professional Development and Classroom Observation Dr. Robert Pianta, Dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, as well as the Novartis US Foundation Professor of Education and a Professor in the Department of Psychology. He serves as Director of the National Center for Research in Early Childhood Education and the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning.
Dean Pianta and his education research team have proven what it takes to build better teachers by developing a system to both assess and improve a teachers effectiveness in the classroom. The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) is an observational measure that has been tested and proven effective in several large national studies and is being utilized by every Head Start program in the country to assess teacher effectiveness and quality. In Piantas recommendations to the Obama Presidential Transition Team for public education, he wrote, Good teachers are key. If we want to improve our students learning, we need to improve the quality of teachers and of teaching.
October 18, 2011 The Importance of Kindergarten-Entry Academic Skills
Dr. Greg J. Duncan, University of California, Irvine
Recent research shows that future school achievement is much less a function of a childs’ school-entry social and emotional development than concrete literacy and numeracy skills like knowing letters, word sounds, numbers and ordinality. Expanding the conception of school success to include not only doing well on achievement tests but also completing high school and attending college changes the picture somewhat. School –entry achievement and anti-social behaviors are only very modestly predictive of these outcomes. More consequential was whether persistent learning or behavior problems were evident in primary school. The best bets for promoting later school achievement would appear to be proven preschool math and literacy curricula, while longer-run educational attainments are most likely to be influenced by curricula or other programs that ensure that children avoid persistent achievement and anti-social behavior problems in primary school.
September 20, 2011 The Link Between Third Grade Reading Skills and High School Graduation Rates
Donald J. Hernandez, Professor, Department of Sociology, Hunter College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, and Senior Advisor, Foundation for Child development
Educators and researchers have long recognized the importance of mastering reading by the end of third grade. Early reading skills are a primary focus of federal education policy. President Obama’s Blueprint for Reform : The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary School Act calls for “Putting Reading First.” This lecture presents evidence on calculations of high school graduation rates based on children’s third-grade reading levels and poverty experiences. It identifies specific groups of children who are especially likely to experience low reading skills, and it explores implications for education reform.
March 17, 2011 Latino Early Learning Circumstances and Opportunities
Dr. Gene Garcia, Vice President for University-School Partnerships, Arizona State University Latino Early Learning Circumstances and Opportunities
This is an interdisciplinary discussion series of early education policy issues, “The Role of Pre-K–3rd Systems Development in Education Reform: Unpacking the Black Boxes of Human and Social Capital.” The series explores the role families, educational institutions, and communities play in fostering social capital to improve educational outcomes for socioeconomically disadvantaged children. These lectures are funded by the Foundation for Child Development and sponsored by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.
February 22, 2011 Early Learning at the U.S. Department of Education and Its Impact on Human and Social Capital
Dr. Jacqueline Jones, Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Early Learning, U.S. Dept. of Education
In the last twenty-five months, the President has continued his commitment to improving the quality of early learning programs and achieving more robust outcomes for young children. The Department has adopted a P-12 educational reform agenda that integrates early learning in high-profile programs and in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This provides a unique opportunity to impact outcomes for young children and their teachers, as well as build cooperative relationships and positive interactions between children, educators, families and other community members.
