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Education In The News
FOUR BERGEN DISTRICTS CHAFE AT CHARTER SCHOOL PROPOSAL, By Jeanne Rimbach
The Bergen County Record, March 14, 2001
Ramsey schools have a great reputation.
Average SAT scores break 1100. Students excel on state tests. Elementary schools have amenities such as courtyards with ponds and even a butterfly garden.
"Students in over 90 percent of the school districts in New Jersey are not currently achieving at as high a level on the state assessment tests as are students in Ramsey," Superintendent Bruce DeYoung said in a letter to state officials.
Yet in what would seem an unlikely area for an upstart, a new player is entering the public school system. The Green Willow Charter School will open its doors in northern Bergen County come September, offering parents in Ramsey and three neighboring districts a tuition-free alternative.
Stressing the arts and community and environmental awareness -- but not competition -- it has some parents in the region intrigued.
"I really find kids are pushed a little too early on in expectations in the public schools," said a Ramsey mother who did not want her children's teachers to know of her interest in the charter school. "I just feel they have a lot of pressure on them at such a young age. They're not allowing them to really be children -- that's why I'm looking for an alternative.."
Dozens of parents have turned out at meetings or made calls to founder Jacqueline de Vries to ask questions about the K-8 school that will primarily serve Ramsey, Mahwah, Upper Saddle River, and Saddle River. Contract negotiations are under way for a building in one of those towns.
So far, 72 youngsters are signed up for the first 144 seats. Most are from the four communities, but a few come from other Bergen, Morris, and Passaic county districts.
At least 50 people have applied for teaching positions.
"I think what Jackie is proposing is more than an education," said Karen Petersen, a Mahwah parent planning to send her two youngest children to the charter school. "She is proposing a lifestyle, just a natural, loving environment that encompasses everyone, that encompasses the planet."
To some, taxpayer-funded charter schools are an opportunity for innovation and choice within the public school system. To others, they are a drain on the regular public schools. And to some they are more suited to struggling districts or troubled urban areas.
In fact, 80 percent of charter school students in New Jersey come from the state's neediest districts, according to the state's Charter Public Schools Association. State education officials say 88 percent of the pupils in charter schools are minorities.
Of the 72 approved charters -- some of which are already open, some of which remain plans on paper -- 52 target urban areas. Two others include urban communities in the regions they serve.
There's a simple reason why the scales tip to one side. Jeanne Allen, president of the Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C., points out that the most obvious problems in education are in urban centers. It's not as tough to start a charter when "reading scores are as low as 20 percent.
"You can make a compelling case that charters can help save those children," said Allen, a Bergen County native who attended Allendale schools. "In the suburbs what is different is that while there's uneven achievement oftentimes, and while there are still problems and challenges, it doesn't always look that bad."
Allen said parents might find that the traditional public schools don't meet their children's needs.
"Charter schools are . . . about helping parents find the schools that will make their children great," she said. "For every community that someone says . . . 'these are really great schools,' there's probably 10 percent or more of the children for whom they are not great."
Green Willow's founders include 13 parents and educators, most from northern Bergen County. They were brought together by De Vries, a longtime Mahwah resident and executive consultant and coach at IBM. She tacked up fliers in libraries and health food stores last March seeking others with a similar vision.
"Our premise is children will look forward to going to school and it's rare that you hear that," De Vries said.
De Vries was already versed in the operation of a charter school. Her two sons attend the Unity Charter School in Morristown, where she participated on a restructuring and planning committee.
Like many charters, Green Willow has met with resistance. All four districts are asking the state Board of Education to keep it from opening.
Only two charters awarded by the commissioner have ever been overturned by the state board, and those schools later opened anyway. Challenges before the state Supreme Court also have failed.
Parents, educators, or private groups apply to the state Department of Education for charters; the law allows for 135 charter schools statewide. After a review process that allows input from the districts, the education commissioner may grant a charter for a four-year period. Districts that do not want charters may appeal to the state board.
In this case, the dispute centers on money, need, and educational approach.
Local officials worry about the potential financial impact of Green Willow. For each child who attends the charter, districts must send it money -- 90 percent of the amount the state says schooling should cost.
So if Green Willow attracts the projected 51 students from Ramsey, DeYoung said $400,000 will flow from the district to the charter. If 44 students come from various grades in Mahwah, Superintendent Murray Blueglass says it means a $458,000 hit. Superintendent Nathan Parker put Upper Saddle River's share at $244,000 if 33 children attend.
So far, 35 students have applied from Mahwah, 16 from Ramsey, 12 from Saddle River, and two from Upper Saddle River.
"There is something terribly flawed with the law," said Blueglass, who maintains that the funding scheme must be changed. "The community needs to say that to its legislative representatives."
Local educators say Green Willow would do only what the local schools are doing well. Some argue that because the schools in the region are generally successful, the charter is not needed.
"Putting a charter school in this area among some of the most successful schools in New Jersey does not meet the legislative intent, which is basically to offer parents who live in areas where students aren't successful, choices," said DeYoung.
The founders, however, don't see Green Willow as more of the same.
"I don't think they understand what we are trying to create," De Vries said. "That's why we will be inviting them to come and see it. Our curriculum goals we all have in common; our approach to getting there, I think, is different."
Plans call for Green Willow to infuse the arts -- including music, dance, and storytelling -- throughout the curriculum. The school will make liberal use of projects that incorporate a range of subjects, the founders said. Students, for example, might research how the community has changed over the past decade, which would bring in everything from population statistics to the environment. Hands-on activities will be common, and learning will be built around themes.
"We really want it to be the kind of place where the child is able to come to their own potential," said Chris Genute of Mahwah, a learning consultant and one of the charter's founders, "really be able to flower and be individuals."
There will be no more than 16 pupils in a class. Founders said teamwork will be emphasized, competition discouraged. Homerooms will mix children from all grades, putting kindergartners side-by-side with eighth-graders.
Textbooks and dittos will be the exception, not the norm. Letter and number grades won't be used. And founders promise homework won't be excessive.
"Children learn and thrive by playing and spending time with family," the school application promises parents. "Our homework policy will intentionally support these activities."
Most mornings will end with a class meeting. Students might talk about how to set up the classroom, how to make it less noisy or messy.
On Fridays, homeroom will run long so pupils can work together on community service projects or other activities, and enrichment activities -- such as photography or dance -- will dominate.
Founder Lora Mattiaccio, a Mahwah parent, believes Green Willow will recognize children's individual learning styles, and staff will have "the flexibility to teach in individual ways."
"Their creativity and ability and interest and imaginations will be turned on," Mattiaccio said. "I think they'll be much more motivated to explore themselves, explore their creativity, and use their imaginations in a less rigid, less structured environment."