newjerseynewsroom.com

BY DANIEL ULLOA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The Newark Teachers Union sent an email to its 4,800 members urging them to protest against the placement of charter school in underutilized public school buildings at an Advisory board meeting held tonight at Barringer High School.

According to the Wall St. Journal, Union President Joseph Del Grosso strongly objects to the placement of charter schools in public school buildings, claiming that some of the private funding that the Charter schools will make obvious the stark differences between the two types of schools.

The meeting will begin at 6 P.M. Tuesday, and staff, students, and parents are all being invited to voice their concerns.

Advisory board President Shavar Jeffries who will preside over the meeting claims the unions opposition comes from the fact that the workforce of the charter school are not unionized. However, Del Grosso claims his opposition has nothing to do with unionizing the workforce in the school.

The topic of the meeting is likely to be the reorganization of the Newark School District which was sparked by Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million donation. In a plan compiled by officials after a thorough analysis of the system, 11 charter schools have been proposed to share space with public schools along with 5 new public schools which would also share space. The plan has the charter schools opening by September, according to NJ.com.

Most charter schools are not unionized and have more specialized, unique curriculum and are more are not controlled by the local Board of Education.

It is only possible to gain entry to a charter school through the lottery system which many students greatly seek to win. Many students are on the waiting list. Currently 14% of Newark children attend the 15 charter schools in Newark out of 75 public schools.

Due to their control by the state for the last 15 years, the Newark School system has fallen between Governor Chris Christie and his ongoing battle with the teacher’s union who he blames for much of the state’s woes, though the NJEA has been his main antagonist in contrast the NTU.

Meanwhile Newark has no permanent superintendent. Clifford Janey, the previous holder, left in February, after failing to turn around the school system, and his contract was not renewed by Christie. Janey was appointed to the position in 2008. Deborah Terrell is currently interim Superintendent.

According to the Wall Street Journal, only 10% of Newark's third graders were proficient in English, while 33% were proficient in math.

In New York City, where many students have unable to pass review tests, many charter schools started using public school space 5 years ago.