POLL: Do Charter Schools Have a Lasting Place in Middlesex County?

How have charter schools affected Middlesex County?

Middlesex County has a selection of charter schools currently operating, including Greater Brunswick Charter School in New Brunswick, Academy for Urban Leadership Charter School in Perth Amboy, and East Brunswick's Hatikvah International Academy Charter School. Hatikvah, a Hebrew dual-language school, has been renting space behind the Trinity Presbyterian Church on Cranbury Road since it opened in 2010. Before it opened its doors it met resistance from the school district. But in 2011, a decision by the State Superior Court Appellate Division put the issue to rest by saying that the district's final appeal, which was based on enrollment, didn't hold up. Located in two trailers, the school has recently had trouble with a growing enrollment…

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Virtual Charter School Bill Advances in Assembly

Legislation halts the approval of new virtual charter schools pending a taskforce examination.

The state Assembly's Education Committee advanced a bill last week that creates a 12-month moratorium on the approval of new virtual charter schools in New Jersey, pending a review by a government task force. Bill A-3105, sponsored by Assemblymen Patrick Diegnan Jr. (D-Middlesex), and Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen), prevents the Commissioner of Education from approving any application for a virtual charter school for one year, while a task force develops recommendations for the structure that governs virtual charter education. "This task force will play an important role in determining whether virtual charter schools should play a role in the future of education in New Jersey," Johnson said via release. "It's important to proactively examine …

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Forum Stresses Clearer Laws, More Local Input in Establishing Charter Schools

Save Our Schools NJ, the Education Law Center and Speak Up Highland Park held a panel discussion on charter reform Tuesday night at the Bartle School.

More community input was the recurring theme at a Tuesday panel discussion in Highland Park about charter school reform. Held at the Bartle School, panelists discussed the problems in existing charter school laws set forth by the state and the legislative solutions that their organizations are trying to get off the ground. The panel was hosted by the Education Law Center, Save Our Schools NJ and Speak Up Highland Park. Panel moderator Stan Karp of the Education Law Center said charters are a "growing and contentious issue." Highland Park and recently, New Brunswick have been the setting for a controversial charter discussion with the application of a Hebrew-language charter high school petitioning to open in New Brunswick. Tikun Olam …

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Charter School Panel to be Held Tonight in Highland Park

Save Our Schools NJ and the Education Law Center will host a panel discussing charters at 7 p.m. tonight at the Bartle School in Highland Park.

Editor's Note: The following information is a press release from Speak Up Highland Park. Save Our Schools New Jersey, Speak Up Highland Park and Education Law Center are jointly sponsoring a panel discussion titled The Promise, the Evidence, and the Politics of Charter Schools in New Jersey.  The event, which is open to the public, will be held on Tuesday, April 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bartle School, 435 Mansfield Ave. in Highland Park. The panel will include: Highland Park is a natural choice of venue for the discussion.  The town’s struggle against an unwanted boutique charter, that was funded by a hedge fund demi-billionaire’s philanthropic group, and was earmarked for a $600,000 federal grant despite overwhelming community …

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Four Strikes and Tikun Olam's Still Not Out?

Darcie Cimarusti, lead organizer for Speak Up Highland Park, reflects on the recent charter school approvals, in which Tikun Olam Hebrew Language Charter High School was not approved.

Tikun Olam Hebrew Charter Language High School Not Approved in Latest Round of Charter Applications

Next round of applications are due in April

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: New Brunswick Area Branch NAACP Opposes Proposed Tikun Olam Charter School

NAACP joins the New Brunswick Civic League and the New Brunswick Public School District in opposing the Hebrew Language Charter High School.

Jan. 4, 2012 Dear Commissioner Cerf, I am writing this letter on behalf of the New Brunswick Area Branch NAACP concerning the application of Tikun Olam Language Charter High School. This is the fourth attempt to establish this particular school in the New Brunswick area. The previous applications were denied. When the application was submitted March 22, 2010, the target students to be serviced were from Highland Park and Edison. This most recent application now has focused recruiting students from primarily the New Brunswick and Edison communities. The change in the application has increased the NAACP's concern regarding the impact of this proposed educational program on the New Brunswick community. The New Brunswick Area Branch NAACP …

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Photo Gallery: Charter School Reform Rally at the State Department of Education

Protestors from Highland Park, New Brunswick, Edison, Teaneck, Montclair, South Orange, Maplewood, Voorhees, and Cherry Hill protested the Department of Education on Dec. 16, demanding charter school reform.

A swarm of angry residents sent a message to the Department of Education on Dec. 16: the approval process for charter schools needs to be fixed. Speak Up Highland Park, a group of local residents united to protest the opening of a proposed Hebrew Language Charter High School in New Brunswick, were joined by supporters from several other towns in New Jersey waging their own battles for charter reform. The group protested the state Department of Education offices in Trenton, but did not get an audience with any of the Department officials. Check out a gallery of photos from the event, courtesy of Speak Up Highland Park.

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Support Bill That Would Approve Charters Through Voting

Bill that would require voter approval to establish new charter schools has stalled in Senate Education Committee.

New Jersey property taxpayers should have the right to vote on whether establishing a charter school is appropriate for their communities. In September 2010, Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Dist. 18) and Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Dist. 15) introduced S-2243, a bill that would require voter approval at the annual school election or by the board of school estimate prior to the establishment of a charter school. In June 2011, the New Jersey Assembly overwhelmingly passed an identical bill, A3852. Unfortunately, S-2243 has stalled in the Senate Education Committee. If S-2243 is not passed and signed into law by the start of the new legislative session next month, the bill may die and A3852 will be nullified.  I urge all New Jerseyans to call Senate …

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Politicians and Residents Pack Meeting To Voice Opposition to Charter Proposal

Tikun Olam Hebrew Language Charter School is in its fourth round of applications to the state to open as a charter school.

The message from several elected officials, school representatives and local residents on Tuesday night was that they are wholly unhappy with the process for approving charter schools in New Jersey, and demand that their opinions be counted in the process. In a town hall style meeting at Bartle Elementary School in Highland Park, residents and officials gathered to discuss the process of charter school approval. Attendees included Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-18), Assemblyman Peter Barnes (D-18), mayors from Highland Park and Edison and superintendents of the Edison, Highland Park and New Brunswick school districts as well as school board members and Middlesex County Freeholder representatives. Much of the ire was directed at Tikun Olam …

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