WOODLAND PARK — A controversial plan to open a Hebrew-immersion charter school in Bergen County might have its best chance at state approval this year as the Christie administration looks to expand school choice throughout the state. The application for Shalom Academy — thrice rejected by the state and opposed by local school administrators — is also buoyed by the...
WOODLAND PARK — A controversial plan to open a Hebrew-immersion charter school in Bergen County might have its best chance at state approval this year as the Christie administration looks to expand school choice throughout the state.
The application for Shalom Academy — thrice rejected by the state and opposed by local school administrators — is also buoyed by the opening this year of a similar school in East Brunswick, which already has a waiting list for the next school year.
"If it's a quality application, it's got a better shot than ever now," said Derrell Bradford, executive director of E3, a statewide school-choice advocacy group.
"In the past, charters were viewed as a nuisance and granted grudgingly," said Bradford, who is helping the state review charter applications. "Without a doubt, the governor and the current Department of Education is more open and receptive to charter schools than any administration we've had previously."
In all, there are 50 applications in the latest bid for charters, a bumper crop for a movement that has been slow to grow since the state started granting charters in 1996. About 26,000 students attend 73 charters in the state, a small fraction of the 1.4 million public school students
But the number is expected to grow substantially under Gov. Christie, whose administration has made school choice a priority in its school reform efforts.
Most charters are in cities with persistently failing schools, but there is a growing interest in the suburbs. The Shalom Academy proposes to serve students in Englewood and Teaneck, two towns that each already hosts a charter.
The public school districts in both towns oppose Shalom, saying it would drain too many resources from the local school budget and not appeal to a broad range of public school students.
"Are you really going to attract the diversity that is Teaneck when you have such a narrow focus?" said Barbara Pinsak, interim superintendent for the township.
Charter schools are tax-supported and public, but are governed independently of local districts. The money follows the student to a charter with the schools getting 60 to 90 percent of what each public school gets per pupil.
It is estimated that Teaneck would need to peel off $1.4 million from its annual budget, and Englewood slightly more for the operations of the new school, according to both districts.
Critics say the charter is a "thinly veiled" attempt to provide a publicly funded alternative to Jewish day schools, where tuition can be $15,000 annually.
Both Teaneck and Englewood are home to a sizeable number of Orthodox Jewish families, most of whom send their children to the private schools. In Englewood, The Moriah School, a private Jewish school, serves 1,000 students in Grades prekindergarten through eight.
Indeed, some in the private school community have worried in the past that a public Hebrew-immersion charter might also take students away from the day schools.
Hebrew-immersion charter schools opened in Brooklyn and Florida in recent years. The opening of the charter in Hollywood, Fla., sparked debate over whether Hebrew and Jewish culture could be taught without teaching religion. However, proponents say the schools are secular.
In September, The Hatikvah International Academy opened in East Brunswick, and there is an application pending for a Hebrew language charter high school in Edison.
Hatikvah now serves Grades K-2 and already has more applications that than it has seats for next year's K-3 enrollment, said Principal Naomi Drewitz. Ninety-eight students are enrolled.
Hatikvah overcame opposition similar to that now leveled at Shalom.
"We're always trying to dispel the misconception that we're a Jewish school," said Principal Naomi Drewitz. "But it's hard to convince people - we have a very, very diverse population."
Indeed, a mixed group was found on a recent visit to the school, now operating in a Presbyterian Church right next to a district elementary school.
Floretta Caldwell said she chose Hatikvah because of the low student-teacher ratio &mdash' there are about 17 students and two teachers in each class — and because she wanted her first-grade daughter Dionna to learn a second language at a young age.
The mix of students is an added bonus, said Caldwell, who is African-American and lives in East Brunswick, where she says the schools are predominantly white. "Her class is very diverse. I wouldn't have that in the regular public school."
Another parent, Dori Daus, said the secular curriculum at Hatikvah would not, as critics had predicted, appeal to the Jewish day school crowd. "The draw is the quality of education and the small class size — you can't beat that," said Daus of Monroe.
Drewitz said private fund-raising supplements public money to allow the school to maintain small class sizes. keep classes small. Hatikvah will be looking for more permanent space in the near future, she said.
The Englewood plan proposes to start with 160 students in Grades K-5 and grow to 240 in K-8.
Englewood Superintendent of Schools Richard Segall said the charter's mission might be "too specialized' to appeal to public school students in the district — just 15 families expressed interest when parents were polled as to whether they wanted a Hebrew-immersion program within the regular district, he said.
The man behind the Shalom Academy, Raphael Bachrach, did not respond to repeated requests to discuss the new application.
DOE State education officials said they are not concerned with the targeted focus of some of the charter applications — in addition to the language-immersion schools, there is a fashion-oriented academy proposed for Essex County and a tourism one being discussed in Atlantic County.
"They all have to teach the state's core curriculum standards," said Valarie Smith, who oversees charters for the Education Department. "If they are adding a certain focus, it's additional."