Wednesday, April 16, 2008
BY LISA RICH
TRENTON -- Two new charter schools that would serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade are being proposed for the city, the state Department of Education said yesterday.
The founders of both schools are city residents and, if their applications are approved, each school would accommodate about 600 students.
The proposals for the Trenton Vista Academy and the Trenton Frontier Academy are among 25 applications for new charters submitted statewide, officials said.
New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said the response makes it "clear that interest in charter schools re mains strong in New Jersey." The state will now begin determining which applications will be approved.
Charter schools are privately operated public schools; they are open to any student in the districts they serve and receive tax money based on enrollment.
As it stands now, there are seven charter schools in Mercer County, including four that serve students from Trenton. Two new schools, Capital Preparatory High School and the Paul Robeson Charter School for the Humanities, are set to open in September.
If approved, The Trenton Vista Academy would focus on in integrating students into communications-based careers and getting them more involved in city affairs, said founder Timothy "Wise" Grimes.
"Aside from providing students a more hands-on experience, we want to expose them to careers in fields such as journalism, entertainment and photography," said Grimes, who also records and produces hip hop music.
"The youth will attend city meetings, understand how it works, and then interview the key players," he said.
Eventually, the students would upload material to their own website and contribute to a print publication that goes along with the school's core curriculum, he said.
A lifelong city resident, Grimes owns a music company, Intelligent Music, that helps independent recording artists market and distribute their music.
His brother-in-law, Wayne Dennis, is the vice principal at P.J. Hill Elementary, a Trenton public school, and is acting as an adviser during the charter school process.
"I told him that of course I would support him, so long as it doesn't interfere with my work," Dennis said. "I don't think it will be a conflict."
Few details were available yesterday on the proposed Trenton Frontier Academy.
Documents filed by the state list the founder as city resident Donnie Walker, whose application for a different charter school was denied last year by the state. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Both proposed schools face a more rigorous approval process than past charters.
The state changed its guidelines after the Mercer Arts Charter School in Trenton opened in September 2007 and was forced to close four months later amid an inadequate academic program and projected deficit of $2.5 million.
Its founders admitted they rushed to open the doors.
Now, the state will require that all approved charter school founders must plan for a year before opening their doors to students.
The new procedure is sup posed to give founders more time to prepare, while cutting back on the number of failed applications, according to state officials.
Under law, public school districts must pay charter schools 90 percent of the per-student cost for every child who attends from their community.
Other funding can come from state aid.
Davy said next year, the state expects to dole out $247.9 million to the 62 charter schools in New Jersey that likely will open in September. There are currently 56 charter schools in operation.
The Paul Robeson Charter School will be the last in Mercer County to open within the same year of being approved.
Contact Lisa Rich at lrich@njti mes.com or (609) 989-5692
Wise Intelligent currently has an after school tutoring program “Intelligent Kidz” in the
