Three charter schools seeking to open in Paterson
By Jayed Rahman
Published: May 17, 2017
Three charter schools have submitted applications to the New Jersey Department of Education to operate schools in Paterson, according to the state. If approved, the three schools will enroll as many as 1,060 students.
M.C. Adams Public Charter School for Boys is seeking a charter to educate 100-400 students beginning with fourth grade and progressing to 7th. Page Thompson is listed as the school’s founder.
Global Learning Charter School has submitted an application seeking to educate 180 to 360 students. The school is seeking to start at K-2 and progress to K-5, according to the state. Zoran Korac, founder of the Global Learning Charter School, failed to secure approval last year.
The Paterson Dual Language Public Charter School, another school that was rejected last year, has submitted a second application seeking to open a school for 120 to 300 students starting in K-1 grades and progressing to K-4.
Amauris Rosario is the founder of the Paterson Dual Language Public Charter School.
The three applications for the March charter application round have been cleared to complete phase two of their application process. Each has until mid-July to submit a phase two application. In late September, the state decides whether to grant initial approvals to the schools.
The latest applications come less than a month after the city’s school board approved a budget blaming charter schools for some of its fiscal woes. The district in 2017-18 school year will send $46 million to charter schools, up from $34 million this year.
District officials identified the $12 million more being sent to charter schools as one of its main cost drivers prior to a vote on a budget that eliminated 208 positions including 96 teachers.
Paterson has vehemently opposed charter schools. Both the board of education and the city council oppose expansion of charter schools in the city. Local education advocates view the expansion of charter schools as a major detriment to the school district. Though the city’s charter schools are hardly any better academically than district schools, thousands of parents are pushing the demand for charters in the city by signing up for wait lists.
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