Two Private Schools In Newark Ask Permission To Become Charters

By John Mooney

Four other organizations also seeking state Department of Education’s expedited go-ahead for schools

Two more private schools are bidding to become public charter schools in the latest round of charter applications in New Jersey.

Six applications in all were submitted to the state Department of Education by Tuesday’s deadline in an expedited review process meant exclusively for established schools or organizations seeking to become new charter schools.

The two proposals both came out of Newark, where the Link School and Affirmation Academy are both seeking to convert to public charters able to accept public dollars instead of tuition.

If the charter applications are approved, LinkSchool would start serving fifth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students from Newark, Orange, East Orange and Irvington, according to the state. Affirmation Academy would serve only Newark students as an elementary school.

The new requests come on the heels of last summer’s first-ever state approval of a charter conversion, or the new Philips Academy Charter School in Newark. Formerly the independent St. Philips Academy, the school sought more financial stability in making the switch while also facing more public accountability.

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