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“We can no longer ignore how many children in Camden, Trenton and Newark are losing a chance at a strong future,” Greenwald said.” Access to a good education is not a privilege, but a fundamental right. We will not waver from this belief. We have more work to do, but this is an example of how we can work together to find compromise to build a better future for our children."

An application for a renaissance school must come jointly from the district and the non-profit school management organization that would operate it. The application must be submitted within three years to the state education commissioner for approval. Only upon the commissioner’s approval would a renaissance school be built. Renaissance schools would be subject to the same educational standards as any other public schools and be accountable to the state Department of Education.

“We must continue to be impatient for the thousands of students that remain stuck in failing schools across the state,” state Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf said. “The signing of this bill today provides one more tool that we have to ensure that a student’s zip code does not define his destiny. We must continue to seek high-quality education options for our students so that every child can graduate from high school ready for college and career.”

DOE would annually evaluate whether renaissance school projects are meeting certain goals and improving student achievement. This would be accomplished through required assessments of the performance of the renaissance schools ten years after the first school opens or five years after the third, whichever comes first.

The sponsors of S-3002/A-4264 are Sen. Donald Norcross (D-Camden) and Assemblymen Angel Fuentes (D-Camden), Gilbert Wilson (D-Camden) and Troy Singleton (D-Burlington)

The Urban Hope Act is one of several pieces of the administration’s overall effort to improve education. Other aspects awaiting legislative action include: the Opportunity Scholarship Act, which would establish a five-year pilot program to provide tax credits to entities contributing to scholarships for certain low-income students; the School Children First Act, which provides for an educator evaluation system based on multiple measures of teacher effectiveness; allows for merit pay; ends the practice of forced placement for teachers; and requires that reductions in staff be made on the basis of effectiveness rather than seniority; and the Charter Reform Bill, which provides critical updates to strengthen and improve New Jersey’s charter law, including increasing the number of charter school authorizers.

—TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM