newjerseynewsroom.com

Would enroll a total of 3,656 children

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Eight new charter schools that would open in September in Camden, Newark, Trenton, Jersey City, and Millville-Vineland have been approved by the state Department of Education.

In Camden, the Charter School for Global Leadership would educate 600 children in grades 9 to 12, the City Invincible Charter School would enroll 600 children in grades K to 8, and the Hope Community Charter School would take 330 children for grades K to 4.

In Newark, the Newark Prep Charter School would enroll 446 children in grades 6 to 12, and the Paulo Freire Charter School would educate 320 children in grades 9 to 12.

Trenton Prep Charter School would enroll 446 children in grades 6 to 12, Jersey City Global Charter School would educate 486 children in grades K to 6, and in Vineland-Millville, the COMPASS Academy Charter School would have 228 students in grades K to 5.

Each school will need to be approved during the DOE’s readiness review before it is able to open.

“Since Governor Christie took office, we have committed to being unapologetically impatient when students do not have access to the high-quality school options that they deserve,” Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf said Friday. “In addition to working to improve all public schools by ensuring that every classroom has an outstanding educator and implementing the new Common Core State Standards aligned with college and career readiness, we are also committed to expanding the number of high-quality charter schools so that every student can choose the school option that is the best fit for them. The applications we approved today have demonstrated a strong educational program and the capacity to implement that program, in addition to articulating a clearly defined need for the school in their specific community.”

Over the past year, the DOE has worked with the National Association of Charter School Authorizers to attempt to strengthen both the state’s application review and authorizing process.

The DOE has a three stage charter review process. Using both internal DOE staff and qualified external reviewers, each application is reviewed against a set of benchmarks to determine which applications will move on to the second stage of the process. As one example, benchmarks include whether an application proposes an educational program that integrates the school’s mission and clearly indicates how it will educate all students, regardless of any theme or other specific focus.

Typically, about half of the applications move on to the second round of the process. In the latest round, 17 of 42 applications moved onto the second stage of the process where applicants receive additional questions for clarification on their application. The DOE provides both the original application and “addenda” to districts for comment. The DOE also receives and reviews public comment during this process.