The Greater Brunswick Charter School
1997 New Jersey Charter School Application
The Greater Brunswick Regional Charter School is defined by the broad themes of child-directed learning in the vein of constructivism, Howard Gardner's "unschooled mind," and Montessori instruction; multi-age groupings of students; a unique degree of parental and community involvement; and a region of residence serving the entire and contiguous school districts of New Brunswick, Edison, Highland Park, and Milltown.
There are three pillars upon which the Charter School will be built:
These pillars rest on the belief that human beings are innately curious, that both the family and community are essential participants in the education of children, and that a vital democracy requires the nurturing of rational, creative, and communicative individuals. The educational goals of the Charter School encompass three intertwined areas of education: intellectual development, socioemotional growth, and community relationships and civic responsibility. This Charter School will be a place where personal and collective excellence flourish.
Students will have both individual and group educational objectives; thus, the educational program addresses these two facets. The curriculum itself will be both structured and flexible, with the focus on process and skill acquisition. The content will be directed by a combination of student interests, group dynamics, teacher guidance, and the State Core Curriculum Content Standards.
Each child's interests and needs as well as processing style will be used to set developmentally appropriate goals in a Personal Education Plan. The general educational goals of each student's plan are (a) to nurture independent learning and (b) develop the child's full potential. The development of plans is also informed by the State Core Curriculum Content Standards.
Assessment is a dynamic, evolving process that changes as a child develops and incorporates new knowledge and skills. We are concerned with how children work and learn as well as what they learn. Any evaluation should examine each child on the basis of his or her own progress, not in relation to a generic "norm." We view assessment as a process to improve student learning, as well as a means for charting a child's progress. Teachers will be given latitude in developing appropriate ways to monitor the development of students' knowledge, understanding, and skills throughout the school year. This repertoire of assessment tools will include student portfolios, teacher records, inventories, student journals, exhibitions, as well as standardized tests.
Assessment of teaching and administrative staff, as well as the school itself, will be linked to student assessments in a logical and meaningful way. This is referred to as the "assessment/accountability loop." This loop is necessary because all the school's stakeholders should be accountable to one another. This loop will promote personal and institutional excellence. High student achievement on standardized tests will be one measure of success for our school. After three to four years, we will do better than comparable districts on these objective test measures. However, more complex self-assessment criteria will be needed to judge progress as it relates to the broad goals of the Charter School mission statement. An internal process of self-evaluation will be confirmed, reinforced and refined by an outside assessment team. The goal of both internal and external assessment, in turn, will be to produce a detailed action plan for self-improvement and adjustment for the school as a whole.
Parental involvement in the running of this Charter School is central to its success. We envision a school with small classes that works to create a strong sense of community, empathy, and trust among its students. We welcome parents/sponsors as full partners in the education of the school's children and will rely on them to commit a significant amount of labor in the school.
The Charter School will work to ensure an atmosphere in which parents/sponsors feel inclinedand not burdenedto contribute their time and effort. The Charter School will also work to ensure that incoming parents/sponsors are supported in undertaking their responsibilities. Adult mentors, the staff, and job coordinator will work to make tasks clearly defined, manageable, and reasonable.
The Board of Trustees represents all parts of the school communityparents/sponsors, staff, and studentsand serves as the directly elected agent of the General Membership to manage the operation and growth of the school. Members of the Board of Trustees are parents of children enrolled in the Charter School. The Board of Trustees will be served by an Advisory Board of community members, experts, and specialists who will play a central role in implementing the Charter School's mission. At this time, members of the Advisory Board include Dr. Penelope Lattimer, Assistant Superintendent New Brunswick Public Schools; Alice Alston, Princeton Research Institute for Science and Mathematics - Learning; Holly Houston, the Center for Leadership and School Structure; Jacque Rubel, Director Emeritus, Institute for Arts and Humanities Education; and Cary Cherniss, Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology.
The School Review Committee, comprised of professional staff and parents, is the primary vehicle for developing specific educational policies and developing the curriculum. This committee ensures that the curriculum and educational program reflect the mission of the school, the expertise of our educational professionals, and the concerns of the General Membership. This committee also ensures educators have a strong role in the governance of the school.
The Charter School will open in September, 1998, with 100 students encompassing the ages 5 through 12 (or the equivalent of grades K through 6). A balanced financial plan is submitted assuming a guaranteed revenue stream of $714,736 from state, local, and categorical aid; an additional $90,000 from a Federal grant for Charter School startup; and an additional $20,000 revenue from fundraising.
Application Summary
Executive Summary
Contents
Section 1: Implementation Plan
1. Mission
2. Goals and Objectives
3. Founders
4. Governance Structure
5. Admission Policy and Criteria
6. Educational Program
7. Student Assessment
8. At-Risk Student, Bilingual Students and Students with Disabilities
9. Student Discipline Policy and Expulsion Criteria
10. Staff
11. Parental and Community Involvement
12. Facility
13. Transportation
14. Waiver of Regulations
15. Charter School Self-Evaluation and Accountability
16. Timetable
17. Liability and Insurance
18. Documentation
Section 2: Financial Plan
1. Financial Overview
Section 3: Appendices
Appendix A. Letters of Support
Appendix B: Job Descriptions
Appendix C: Employment Contract
Appendix D: Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences
Appendix E: School Compact
Appendix F: By-Laws
Appendix G: Certificate of Incorporation
Appendix H: Lease Agreement
Appendix I: Registration Forms
Greater Brunswick Charter School
The region of residence of the Greater Brunswick Charter School comprises
the municipalities of New Brunswick, Highland Park, Edison, and Milltown. These
entire and contiguous districts were selected as they represent an economically
and racially diverse constituency from which the Charter School will recruit
students.
Children direct their own education.
Because children are naturally curious and desire knowledge of their world, the Greater Brunswick Charter School will be a place in which children are free to learn at their own pace, in their own ways. Individuals will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own education through Personal Education Plans. Learning can occur in myriad waysthrough broad, thematic projects; older students teaching younger students; intensive study; individual enterprise or private reflection. Within this self-directed context, children will strive to reach their highest potential intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally. Individual responsibilities and personal excellence can flourish at this school.
Students, staff, and families create a learning community.
This school is governed by the belief that children learn best in a supportive, stimulating environment catalyzed by talented educators who encourage them to rise to intellectual challenges, nurture perseverance, de-emphasize academic competition, and encourage collaboration. Children will feel safe taking risks and making mistakes in this environment. Through their understanding of individual and group needs in multi-age classes, educators will help children become critical thinkers, problem solvers, and above all independent learners. Parents/sponsors will work closely with students on their Personal Education Plans and actively participate in the running of the school.
School builds civility, community, and democracy.
By emphasizing the needs of the community through model civic institutions, this school will encourage personal dignity as well as empathy and respect for others. The ideals of individual and familial diversity, cooperation, freedom, and responsibilityideals necessary for a democratic societywill be practiced by the children in this school. Interactions with the outside community through public service, apprenticeships, internships, and instruction from members of all parts of society will further the opportunity for students to learn about the larger society. This school will be a place where collective responsibilities flourish, even as the individual is nurtured.
The Greater Brunswick Charter School is defined by several themes and concentrations:
The charter mission is built on the beliefs that:
We also recognize the differences that exist among humans and that these differences influence the educational needs of individual learners. Thus, our definition of high student achievement is that each child reaches his or her full intellectual, emotional, and social potential as they progress through the Charter School.
The broad goals of the Charter School encompass three intertwined areas of education: intellectual development, socioemotional growth, and civic responsibility.
Students will master the knowledge detailed in the New Jersey State Core Curriculum Content Standards.
This will mean that:
Students will progressively take responsibility for their own learning and so become independent learners.
This will require that:
Students will develop the capabilities to live in, and enjoy, a dynamic world.
These include capabilities such as:
For students to meet these goals, it is necessary that:
Staff will establish an environment that stimulates exploration and growth.
To do this, they will:
Staff will develop a flexible, articulated, and developmentally progressive curriculum that integrates the Core Curriculum Content Standards with the interests and needs of students.
They will do this by:
Staff will authentically assess student achievement.
To do this, staff must:
Families/sponsors will participate directly in the child's education, as well as the running and growth of the school.
This will occur through:
Students will develop the habits of self-expression, self-critique, and self-discipline.
This will occur through:
Students will support and celebrate the growth of their peers.
This will arise from:
Meeting these goals requires a number of additional commitments from staff and parents/sponsors:
The staff will establish an environment that emphasizes respect, trust, democratic resolution of conflict, appreciation of diversity, self-motivation and discipline, and freedom with responsibility.
They will do this by:
Staff and parents/sponsors will create a safe, personal, and stable school.
This will happen because:
Students will actively participate in creating and maintaining the school (and classroom) as a democratic community.
They will do this via:
Staff, family, and sponsors will model the behaviors and shared values necessary for an effective democracy.
This means that:
The Charter School will build bridges to the surrounding community.
These bridges will arise from:
The Charter School membership will reflect the population of its region of
residence.
Our outreach efforts will ensure that the racial and economic demographics will be represented in the student body. All outreach will be undertaken in both English and Spanish.
Meg Anderson
Highland Park, NJ
Meg's children attend Irving School and Bartle School in Highland Park.
She is a member of Irving and Bartle School PTOs.
Meg Anderson is a doctoral candidate in Anthropology. She has taught on the college level and conducted research on community organization and development.
Jim Appleton
New Brunswick, NJ
Jim's son attends Lincoln School in New Brunswick.
He is a member of the New Brunswick Board of Education.
Jim Appleton is the parent of two children, ages six years and eight months. He is currently the President of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers. Recently, he was Managing Partner of Public Strategies Impact, a government relations consulting firm. He has served as a part-time Assistant City Attorney/Special Counsel to the City of New Brunswick. Jim has also served as Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Operations for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. He is a former member of the New Brunswick Planning Board, and is a founding member and chairman of the New Brunswick Environmental Commission.
Anne Barron
Highland Park, NJ
Anne serves as a secondary level science teacher with a concentration in science curriculum development in the Franklin Township and New Brunswick school districts.
Anne Barron has six years public school teaching experience in California and New Jersey, and holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. She is a member of NJEA and the New Jersey Science Teachers Association. She has been a member of both the Committee on Diversity and Race Relations in Highland Park and the Study Circles of Highland Park. Anne has served as a volunteer child-care provider at St. Peter's Hospital and is a member of the Coalition for Progressive Taxation and Education Excellence in Highland Park.
Martha Blom
Highland Park, NJ
Martha's son attends Irving School in Highland Park.
She is co-president of the Irving School PTO.
Martha Blom lives in Highland Park with her husband and two children, ages six and two. She has worked as a social worker, executive chef, and food service consultant.
Martha has participated in Share Our Strength (a national food distribution program), City Harvest (New York City), God's Love We Deliver (food service for home-bound persons), and the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. She has served on the Board of the Trenton After School Program, an enrichment program for children in Trenton public schools. Martha has also served on the Board of Directors of Pine Grove Nursery School in Piscataway, NJ.
Lisa Cameron
New Brunswick, NJ
Lisa's son is a pre-schooler at the Unitarian Society Montessori School (out of district).
Lisa Cameron is a Certified Landscape Architect for the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission. She holds a B.F.A. from the Philadelphia College of Art, and a degree in Environmental Design (Landscape Architecture) from Cook College, Rutgers University.
Gwen Cerasoli
Highland Park, NJ
Gwen is a primary and preschool teacher, certified for pre-K - 8, and specializing in literacy education. Her son attends Highland Park High School.
Marjorie Egarian
New Brunswick, NJ
Marjorie's son attends Lincoln School in New Brunswick.
Marjorie Egarian lives in New Brunswick with her husband (Jim Appleton) and two children, ages six years and eight months. Marjorie has been a staff representative for the Communications Workers of America, Local 1033, representing state workers since 1981. She has worked to build membership and leadership, resolve workplace problems, and negotiate labor-management agreements. Over the last three years she coordinated a successful organizing drive among a new state-wide professional bargaining unit of judiciary employees. Marjorie has served on the Boards of the Central Jersey Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Housing Coalition of Middlesex County, and the Central Jersey YWCA.
Andrew Fisk
Milltown, NJ
Andrew's son attends school at home.
Andrew Fisk lives Milltown with his wife (Karen Fisk) and two children, ages six and newborn. Andrew holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Regional Planning. He has worked in legislative and community organizing and is also active in the Milltown Little League.
Karen Fisk
Milltown, NJ
Karen's son is schooled at home.
Karen Fisk lives Milltown with her husband (Andrew Fisk) and two children, ages six and newborn. She edits the Ethics and Religion section of The Home News and Tribune, and works closely with public school students as the "Kid's Stuff" editor. She is also a soccer coach and a member of the Cook College Student Farm Core Group.
Lori Freedman
Highland Park, NJ
Lori's daughter attends Irving School in Highland Park.
Lori Freedman and her husband have two children, ages five and two. Lori has served as Family Services Coordinator for Healthcare for the Homeless in Boston, MA; she has also served as Homebased Family Services Coordinator for St. Clare's/Riverside Medical Center.
Lori was a founder of a shelter and food service for the homeless in Boston. Lori has been an active member of central New Jersey's Family Friends, leading discussion groups on parenting and family life. She has served on the Board of Directors of Pine Grove Nursery School, a parent-run cooperative in Piscataway, NJ.
Diane Gruenberg
Highland Park, NJ
Diane's daughter attends school at home.
Diane has taught high school English and college-level writing for over ten years. Her certification includes N.J. Elementary and N.J. Teacher of English. She is affiliated with the N.Y.U. Expository Writing Program.
E. Elizabeth Johnson
New Brunswick, NJ
Beth's children attend St. Peter's School in New Brunswick.
E. Elizabeth Johnson is a minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA) who has served for twelve years as Professor of New Testament at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. She holds an A.B. from Ohio University, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, an M.A. from Yale University, and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. She is the mother of two children whom she adopted internationally. In addition to professional interests and responsibilities, she has been active in adoption circles, leading parent education for two different New Jersey adoption agencies. She has served on numerous boards of church-related and civic agencies and is currently involved with Elijah's Promise Soup Kitchen in New Brunswick.
Ruby Jones
New Brunswick, NJ
Ruby's children attend Rutgers University and Paul Robeson School in New Brunswick.
Ruby Jones is a Certified Clinical Social Worker and a substance abuse counselor for P.A.C.T. at St. Peter's Hospital in New Brunswick.
Nora Kreiger
Nora is the Director of the Pine Grove Cooperative Nursery School. She is certified in Early Childhood Education (New York), and is a Ph.D. candidate (N.Y.U.) in Educational Leadership and Technology.
Mary Beth Loughlin
New Brunswick, NJ
Mary Beth's children attend Woodrow Wilson School and Children's House Montessori pre-school in New Brunswick. She is Vice President of the Woodrow Wilson School PTO.
Mary Beth Loughlin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Certified School Social Worker in the Hillsborough, NJ, school district, where she has served for the past ten years. She has been an active member of the City Rent Leveling Control Board in New Brunswick for the past six years.
Ellen B. Maughan
Highland Park, NJ
Ellen's children attend Irving School in Highland Park.
Ellen Maughan is an attorney admitted to the New Jersey Bar. She has served as a counselor for W.I.C. and as Treasurer for the N.J. Breastfeeding Taskforce.
Maria Muniz
Edison, NJ
Maria's children attend Herbert Hoover School and Lincoln School in Edison.
Maria Muniz lives with her husband and four childrenages 13, 9, 7, and 17 monthsin Edison, NJ. Their family is very active in their parish church. Maria has served a culturally and racially diverse community in New Brunswick as a medical secretary for Catholic Charities. She has also worked as a community liaison for the W.I.C. program. She is an essential part of a Catholic Charities family practice clinic as a translator and health services coordinator.
Peter M. Paulson
New Brunswick, NJ
Peter is the father of four children and was active with the Ridgewood, NJ, School Board before moving to New Brunswick four years ago.
Peter is a minister of the Reformed Church in America who currently serves as pastor of the North Branch Reformed Church. His previous positions with the church were as a denominational executive. He has extensive experience in communications, particularly in television production. He holds an A.B. from Hope College and an M.Div. from New Brunswick Theological Seminary. He has done advanced study in group process and administration for non-profit groups. He has served on numerous boards of church-related and civic agencies and is currently involved with Elijah's Promise Soup Kitchen in New Brunswick.
Rick Pressler
New Brunswick, NJ
Rick's son attends pre-school at the Unitarian Society Montessori School (out of district).
Rick is a learning support consultant in the telecommunications industry, specializing in Internet-based training and documentation systems. His clients include AT&T, Bellcore, NYNEX, Bell Atlantic, Bell South, GTE, and CNET. He hold a B.A. in Music from Haverford College and has received professional training in project management, business management, and instructional design. He is a member of the Society for Technical Communication.
B.J. and David Welsh
Edison, NJ
B.J. and David's child attends Washington School in Edison.
David is a class parent and PTO member at Washington School.
B.J. and David Welsh live in Edison, NJ, with their 10-year-old child who is a student at Washington School. B.J. was educated at Montclair University and in England in theater arts, and is an administrative assistant with Hilton Hotels. She has served as a Literacy Volunteer, participated in the "Odyssey of the Mind" program in the Edison schools, and performed as an audio description volunteer for the sight impaired. David is Staff Facilities Manager for the George Street Theater in New Brunswick.
B.J. and David are co-founders of the Black Sheep Theater Company in New Brunswick. They have been active members of the Franklin Villagers and the Edison Valley Playhouse.
The Greater Brunswick Charter School has established a number of partnerships which will help us develop our program and provide ongoing opportunities for our students.
The New Brunswick Board of Education and the district administration have provided valuable help by
The Music Education department of Westminster Choir College, Rider University, will provide music instructors and assist us in establishing a music curriculum.
The Puerto Rican Action Board (New Brunswick) has sponsored outreach and registration meetings for the school and offered translation services.
The InterArts program of the Institute for Arts and Humanities Education has conducted seminars at our outreach conferences and will work with our teachers to help us incorporate the arts into our curriculum.
The Middelesex County College Departments of Nutrition and Food Service Management offers resources for curriculum enhancement and the delivery of nutritionally sound and high quality meals for our students. We can also draw on this partnership to create workshops in nutrition and meal planning for parents and sponsors in our General Membership.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's Community Education Program has agreed to help with both hospital-based classes and curriculum planning for such topics as public health, developing sexuality, family life education, and adolescent development for both our students and staff. This is a particularly valuable association at this time because RWJUH has just received approval to add a Children's Medical Center to their teaching hospital system. We can also draw on their teaching staff's expertise for extended supervision and support of our school nurse.
The Graduate School of Applied Psychology will partner with the Charter School in providing a field placement site for Ph.D. candidates in the field of School Psychology. There is a valuable opportunity here for enhancing the efforts of child study teams and providing additional classroom resources for teachers at every level in the school.
The Urban Ecology program at Rutgers University will work with us to offer students hands-on experience working on ecology-oriented projects in the community.
The Center for Leadership and School Structure, a Princeton-based, private consulting firm, has agreed to assist us in teacher training and curriculum development.
Margaret L. Anderson
235 Wayne Street
Highland Park, NJ 08904
Irving School PTO (Highland Park)
Member, Bartle School PTO (Highland Park)
Member, Highland Park Egalitarian Minyan
Martha Blom
331 Felton Street
Highland Park, NJ 08904
Co-President, Irving School PTO
Andrew Fisk (Chairman)
124 Van Liew Avenue
Milltown, NJ 08850
Lori Freedman
226 S. Fourth Avenue
Highland Park, NJ 08904
Certified School Social Worker
Elizabeth Johnson (Secretary)
17 Seminary Place
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Professor, New Brunswick Theological Seminary
Peter Paulsen (Parliamentarian)
8 Lafayette Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Minister, Reformed Church of North Branch (NJ)
Rick Pressler
21 Dewey Drive
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Member, Society for Technical Communication
Mary Beth Loughlin
7 Edgebrook Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Certified School Social Worker, Hillsborough School District
B.J. Welsh
94 Stony Road
Edison, NJ 08817
Artistic Director, Black Sheep Theater Company
Marguerite Heller
37 South 18th Street
P.O. 281
Kenilworth, NJ 07033
Teacher/Supervisor, Elizabeth School District
Alice Alston
35 Edgehill Road
Princeton, NJ 08540
Princeton Research Institute for Science and Mathematics (PRISM) - Learning
David Bensman
Room 151
School Of Management and Labor Relations
Livingston Campus, Rutgers University
Piscataway, NJ 08854
Penny Lattimer
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum
New Brunswick School District
24 Bayard Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Jim Appleton
12 Lafayette Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Member, New Brunswick Board of Education
Member, Legislative Committee on Charter Schools
Holly Houston
Center for Leadership and School Structure
Princeton, NJ 08540
Jacque Rubel
Director, Emeritus
Institute for Arts and Humanities Education
Cary Cherniss
Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
Room A209
Psychology Building
Busch Campus, Rutgers University
Piscataway, NJ 08854
Frank Abrahams
Chairperson, Music Education Department
Westminster Choir College of Rider University
101 Walnut Lane
Princeton, NJ 08540
Judith Marquess
Director
Bless-U, St. Peters Medical Center Child Day Care
562 Easton Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Sally Hindes
Learning Disabilities Consultant
3 Voorhees Road
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Lise DuBois
Puerto Rican Action Board
22 Joyce Kilmer Avenue
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Karenga Arifu
Director of Recreation, Borough of Highland Park
221 South Fifth Avenue
Highland Park, NJ 08904
Warren Dennis
Professor of Urban Theology
New Brunswick Theological Seminary
17 Seminary Place
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Members of the Board of Trustees/Advisory Board should possess experience or expertise in a field or discipline related to creating and operating a school or business, including:
Members must be committed to public education and to the proposition that every child deserves and needs an excellent education. They must be good listeners and skilled in working democratically with others.
Board of Trustee members must care passionately about the education of the children in our community, and they must be able to dedicate the time necessary to fulfill the Board's many responsibilities during the initial year.
The Board of Trustees will initially consist of 11 people who are members of the General Membership. Of the total number of trustees, two nonvoting, ex-officio trustee positions will be held by staff of the Charter School, other than the Director. The Director will hold a nonvoting position on the Board.
There must be at least one voting member on the board from each of the four municipalities comprising the region of residence.
After the first full year of the school's operation, two student representatives will serve on the Board in an advisory capacity as nonvoting adjuncts for one-year terms. Student nominees for the Board of Trustees must be at least 10 years old, have attended two regular Board meetings and one General Membership meeting, and display a reasonable understanding of the Board of Trustee's responsibilities.
In addition, the Board will appoint legal counsel for a three-year term to serve the Board in an advisory capacity.
The Officers of the Charter School Board of Trustees will include a Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Director, Secretary, Treasurer, and Parliamentarian. The Board may create additional positions as required.
The initial Trustees are set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation (Appendix G: Certificate of Incorporation). All successor Trustees, except the Director, will be elected by the General Membership in the June General Membership meeting, with terms to commence the following July 1. Initially, the trustees will be randomly assigned terms of one, two, or three years to enable approximately one-third of the Board to be elected each year. Following the initial elections, all terms will be three years. There is no limit on the number of terms a trustee may serve.
The Officers, except for the Director, are elected by the Trustees at the annual July meeting of the Trustees and serve for staggered terms of three years, until their successors are elected.
In addition to the elected Board of Trustees, an Advisory Board, consisting of at least nine members, will provide its expertise, insight, and contacts to the Greater Brunswick Charter School. The Advisory Board consists of individuals who may or may not be members of the General Membership, but who have expertise, insights, or concerns they wish to offer the school.
Advisory Board members cannot vote on matters before the Board of Trustees.
The Advisory Board is a way to tap the tremendous human resources within our community to gain from the experience of others, and to involve disparate parts of the community in the development of the school.
The Board of Trustees will have all powers and authority necessary for the management of the school. It will have ultimate responsibility for fulfilling the school's mission. The Board will have authority to decide matters related to the operation of the school, including, but not limited to, budgeting, hiring, and operating procedures.
Typical Board responsibilities include:
The Board must also delegate tasks where appropriate, thus building community involvement and managing their own work load.
Members of the Advisory Board will work on projects or issues related to their interests or expertise, and in accordance with the needs of the school. Their work may involve attending meetings of specific committees or the Board of Trustees to provide information or help with various tasks.
The entire General Membership of the Greater Brunswick Charter Schoolthe Director, teachers, parents/sponsors, and studentswill have an integral role in the governance of the school. This role is expressed in a number of ways:
Members of the Board of Trustees are necessarily members of the General Membership. Staff members, while unable to participate as voting members on the Board of Trustees, will serve as nonvoting members, well able to influence decisions and advocate specific changes or practices. Two staff members, plus the Director of the school, will serve on the Board in this way.
After the first year of the charter, student representatives will also participate on the Board of Trustees as nonvoting members, ensuring a voice for students in the governance of the school. In addition, students will be encouraged to create their own institution(s) for representing their views and governing themselves.
The School Review Committee, as defined in the school's By-Laws (see Appendix F: By-Laws), will also play a major role in school governance. This committee is the primary authority for all matters relating to curriculum and educational policy and practice. All such matters must be considered in this committee prior to consideration by the Board of Trustees.
It is also this committee's responsibility to review and comment on matters before the Board, and originate recommendations to the Board on matters of school policy, staffing, parental involvement, and mission.
The School Review Committee will include the Director, Family Coordinator, and at least four other members of the General Membership, including teachers. In particular, this committee provides a voice for concerns and recommendations of staff members.
The School Review Committee provides a structural mechanism for ensuring teachers and professional staff an equal voice in governing the Charter School.
There are no private entities involved in the operation of the Greater Brunswick Charter School.
The Grievance Committee will have five positions, at least one, but no more than three, of which must be filled by a member of the school staff. Grievance Committee members will be elected by the General Membership and serve one-year terms. Candidates may be self-nominated or nominated by an individual of the General Membership. All nominations must be seconded. Members of the Grievance Committee subject to a filed complaint must excuse themselves from the deliberations of the Committee.
The purpose of the Grievance Committee is to solve as fairly and equitably as possible issues that relate to concerns of the General Membership, as well as complaints that arise from outside the school community. Because all members of the school communitystaff, parents/sponsors, and studentsgovern this school equally, there should be no negative consequences to filing a grievance complaint. Indeed, this committee will be central to making the school effective, efficient, and excellent.
The Grievance Committee will accept complaints only after adequate attempts to solve the problem first have been made by the involved parties themselves or, if necessary, by the Director. If the grievor feels the complaint has not been addressed at these levels, they should then submit a written complaint to the Grievance Committee.
For those complaints that arise from outside the school community or from alleged violations of the Charter School Program Act of 1995 (c. 426, P.L 1995 Section 15), the Committee will treat all such written complaints made before a regularly convened Board of Trustees meeting as quickly as possible. The Committee will make a written reply to the party filing the complaint within two weeks, outlining the intended solution. After the proposed solution, the Committee will follow up with the grievor after a reasonable time to confirm the problem has been addressed.
For those grievances that relate to concerns of the General Membership, the Committee must receive a written description of the matter. Upon receipt of a grievance, the Committee must meet within two weeks and reply in writing to the grievor within one week after the meeting. This response will indicate the steps the Committee has or will in the very near future take to solve the problem. After the proposed solution, the Committee will follow up with the grievor after a reasonable time to confirm the problem remains solved.
All written complaints, upon their resolution by either the Grievance Committee or the Board of Trustees, will be reported at regular Board of Trustee meetings, and a summary report of grievances will be provided to the General Membership at their meetings as well.
Complaint review should include personal communication with both parties and follow accepted norms of due process. Every effort will be made to maintain the confidentiality of involved parties. The Grievance Committee will make every effort to reach solutions acceptable to all parties, and will at all times attempt to be impartial and considerate of the personal and professional consequences of its decisions. Resolutions proposed by the Grievance Committee are nonbinding and may be appealed to the Board of Trustees (c. 426, P.L. 1995 Section 15).
At the Greater Brunswick Charter School children will be placed in multi-age, multi-grade classes so they will have the opportunity to work with the same teacher and group of children for more than one year. These classes will not necessarily have the same number of students from each of the grades (in other words, in a K-2 class, there may not be the same number of kindergartners, first graders and second graders). Instead, the classes will be shaped according to the strengths and needs each child brings to a group. This will also allow us the flexibility in the first year of operation to accommodate as many children as possible who seek enrollment, while still basing our numbers on class sizes that allow for a desirable student-teacher ratio.
We anticipate that in the first year the number of students seeking admission, and ultimately being accepted, will be heavily weighted towardthe lower grades (K-3).
In the first year, we plan to enroll approximately 55 children in the K-2 grade range, 30 children in the third-fourth grade range, and 15 children in fifth-sixth grade range.
Every year thereafter, we will enroll 30 additional children (20 kindergartners and 10 other children distributed throughout the grades), ultimately reaching 190 children in kindergarten through ninth grade by the 2001-2002 school year.
The following chart is a projection:
1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 K 20 20 20 20 1 18 20 20 20 2 17 16 20 20 3 15 16 17 20 4 15 16 17 18 5 9 16 17 18 6 6 16 17 17 7 0 10 17 17 8 0 0 15 20 9 0 0 0 20 TOTAL 100 130 160 190
Describe the student admissions policies and the criteria for evaluating the students to be admitted.
The Greater Brunswick Charter School will be open to all students in our particular grade range on a space-available basis and will not discriminate in its admissions policies and practices on the basis of intellectual or athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, status as a handicapped person, proficiency in the English language, or any other basis that would be illegal if used by a district board of education. The Charter School will comply with the provisions of Chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes concerning the provision of services to handicapped students, excepting those determined to require a private day or residential school placement. This policy is also in accordance with the Charter School Program Act of 1995, c. 426, P.L. 1995 section 11(b).
There are no tests or academic requirements for entrance to our school because it is founded on the principle that a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment will encourage all students to develop to their own potential.
In order to be admitted to the school, a child's parent(s)/sponsor(s) (hereafter referred to as a "parent") must attend both an enrollment session and a registration session. In order to provide for a fair and equitable admissions process, even those parents who are founders, who have worked on a Charter School committee, or who are on the Board, must attend both these meetings and participate in the same enrollment-registration-lottery process as all other families.
An enrollment session is a two-hour introductory meeting that describes the mission and educational philosophy of the school. A variety of materials including curriculum materials, assessment tools, photographs of classrooms and student projects, etc. will be available for parents to explore. There will also be time to answer questions about multi-age classes, Personal Education Plans, and any other issues they have pertaining to the school or their individual child.
Only after they have attended an enrollment session can parents attend a registration session, also mandatory. At this time, parents will be shown the school compact describing the roles and responsibilities of staff, students, and parents/sponsors. They will be encouraged to sign the compact after their child has been registered and admitted to the school. It should be noted that signature of the compact is not necessary for registration or admission. Parents are being shown the compact at this time, however, so they can make an informed decision about whether this is the school they want for their children.
During the registration session, parents will be required to complete the registration form (Appendix I: Registration Forms) and provide proof of residence (at least two of the following: NJ driver's license, property deed, mortgage statement, lease, notarized statement from a landlord, and/or current utility bill) and proof of guardianship (original birth certificate or copy of birth certificate with a raised seal, copy of section of court decree awarding custody, or copy of most recent NJ or US Income Tax return indicating name of dependent, dependent's social security number, and name of adult claiming child as dependent).
During the registration session, parents will receive the Registration and Lottery Rules and Procedures handout (Appendix I: Registration Forms). Representatives of the school will answer any questions they have regarding the random selection process. They will then fill out the appropriate paperwork to enter their child in the lottery (see subsection 5(d), below).
Because the Greater Brunswick Charter School envisions a different type of learning environment from the traditional classroom, admissions in the early years of the school will be skewed toward the younger ages (K-3). This will help provide a younger cohort of students who can more easily adapt to this school's style. These younger students will then "grow up" into the older divisions and, with a small proportion of older students, flatten out the age distribution. We plan to add one grade each year at the upper end, eventually reaching K-12, as the older members of the learning community move up.
Each year admissions will be focused on admitting approximately 20 new kindergartners. We will also focus admissions to particular grade levels, as necessary, to accommodate openings as the result of student attrition.
There are no specific areas of concentration in the Charter School that would direct our admission.
Applications for enrollment in the Charter School will be accepted from the period of January 20 through February 12, 1998. If there are more students than there are available spaces in each grade group, there will be a lottery for that grade. The number of students to be selected in each grade will be determined by the Board of Trustees at its regularly scheduled meeting held prior to the lottery. This meeting (as well as all other Board meetings) will be publicized to all potential enrollees and the general public.
The lottery will be held February 14, 1998 and will be administered by two accountants not affiliated with the Charter School. Only applicants from the region of residence will be included in the February 14 lottery. A separate lottery for applicants outside the region of residence will be conducted on May 3, 1998, provided there are still slots available in the grade levels or on the waiting list (please see subsection 5(g), below).
An applicant's parent or sponsor must have attended both an enrollment session and a registration session and submitted the required forms and documentation in order to participate in the lottery. Parents must complete a separate registration form for each child they hope to enroll in the school. They can then choose to group the registrations together and list all of their children on one lottery ticket (as in a "family ticket") or have a separate lottery ticket for each child.
Each individual registration, or packet of registrations (as in the case of a "family ticket") will be assigned a number. The same number will be placed on a receipt given to the parent (please see Appendix I: Registration Forms) and on a lottery pool ticket (please see Appendix I: Registration Forms). Since there will be no identifying information on the ticket other than a number and a grade level, a random selection process is assured and will be attested to by the accountants.
If one ticket per family is used and that number is picked in the lottery, than all the children on that ticket gain admittance to the school. If it is not picked, none of the children gain admittance, unless they are selected from the waiting list at a later date. If one ticket per child is used, than each child whose number is selected gains admittance to the school. Selection of one child does not automatically mean a sibling will gain admittance. Any applicants who remain after class slots are filled will revert back to a general lottery pool for selection and placement on a waiting list. A separate waiting list will be maintained for each grade level.
All parents are encouraged, but not required, to attend the lottery. Parents who cannot attend the lottery will be notified of their children's status no longer than one week after the lottery. Notification is through personal contact with a Charter School representative or via mail. Parents are required to inform the Greater Brunswick Charter School within 24 hours of their notification whether they plan to enroll their child in the school. They will then need to sign a form (please see Appendix I: Registration Forms) stating that they plan to enroll their child in the school and will notify their local school district of their plans, in accordance with the registration policies of each local district. Failure to notify the Charter School within 24 hours will open that slot to the next child on the waiting list.
After the first year of the school's operation, siblings of currently enrolled Charter School students will be given priority in the admissions process. This will be contingent upon there being any openings in the appropriate grade level for such students. Sibling registration will be held one month ahead of the scheduled main admissions lottery in any given year of the Charter School's operations. If there are more sibling applicants than spaces available for a particular grade level, a separate sibling lottery will be held prior to the main admissions lottery, and a separate sibling waiting list will be maintained on a grade-by-grade level, as necessary, to give siblings priority for available slots.
At the Greater Brunswick Charter School we do not evaluate prospective students. As stated in subsection 5(b), paragraph 1, above, the school will be open to all students in the municipalities of Edison, Highland Park, Milltown, and New Brunswick.
While we will not be evaluating students prior to admission, we strongly believe it is essential for prospective students and their families to evaluate the school's mission, goals, and educational program. Parents and students will have the opportunity to learn about these at the enrollment sessions and again at the registration sessions. The Enrollment Committee will ensure that families who choose this school are aware of the distinctive program we are offering.
Parents will be shown a copy of the school compact at the registration session, and the expectations it outlines for the student, family, and school will be explained in depth. The purpose of this is not to exclude, preclude or discourage applicants from applying to the school. Rather, it will be used as a "selling point," the goal of which is to attract families who are looking for a school that welcomes a great deal of family involvement in all aspects of children's education and schoolgovernance.
Non-resident students may apply for admission on a space-available basis. However, in order to provide an opportunity for as many students from the region of residence as possible to attend the school, the lottery for nonresident students will be conducted May 3, 1998 (as opposed to the region-of-residence lottery which will be held February 14, 1998), so if spaces are available in the school, we can continue to recruit students from the four municipalities for an additional two months, before opening enrollment to nonresident students.
The Charter School welcomes all students regardless of their abilities, disabilities, or language. There are no academic or language requirements. In our publications and public meetings we clearly state that all children who apply have an equal chance to attend, and that no preference is given to founders or other "insiders."
Our mission explicitly requires a diverse and integrated school. To this end, we have launched an extensive outreach and enrollment program (detailed in subsections 5(i) and 5(j), below). Over the past two years we have recruited members and contacts in virtually every part of the community in our region of residence. This is the most effective way to provide a diverse pool of applicants.
Enrollment and registration will take place in five stages as follows:
Stage I: Enrollment Sessions - January 20 - February 8, 1998
Enrollment sessions, the first of two meetings parents must attend in order to register their child for the school, will be held in New Brunswick, Highland Park, Milltown and Edison. Any persons from these, or any other municipalities, are encouraged and welcomed to attend.
Stage II: Registration Sessions - February 5 - February 12, 1998
Registration sessions, the second of two meetings parents must attend in order to register their child for the school, will be held in all four districts in the region. Upon completion of the registration material and provision of appropriate documentation, families from both within and outside the region of residence can register. Families who reside within the region of residence will participate in the lottery on February 14. Families who reside outside the region of residence will participate in a lottery May 3.
Although we would like to keep the enrollment/registration process open as long as possible to maximize outreach, we are holding the lottery at an earlier date to accommodate a direct request from the Highland Park Superintendent. This will enable us to provide the Highland Park Board of Education with actual enrollment figures prior to submission of their budget to the state in early March.
Stage III: Lottery for Region of Residence Students - February 14, 1998
Given a broad and thorough outreach effort, we anticipate having more applicants than spaces available. Therefore a lottery will be conducted on February 14, 1998 for selection of students from New Brunswick, Highland Park, Milltown, and Edison. Once all the slots are filled, we will establish a waiting list.
Stage IV: Additional Enrollment/Registration Sessions- February 15 - April 30, 1998
We expect to fill the school upon completion of the lottery. However, if there are slots available after the lottery, or if we need to bolster the waiting list for each multi-grade level, we will continue active recruitment efforts and hold at least two additional enrollment/registration sessions in order to fill the school with students from the region of residence. All region of residence students seeking admission after the February 14 lottery will be registered immediately on a first-come, first-served basis, without the need to participate in a lottery, and will be given a place in the appropriate grade, if space is available, or will be placed on the waiting list. Only if there are less than five children on the waiting list for any grade level will we proceed to Stage V.
Stage V: Lottery for Students Outside Region of Residence - May 3, 1998
If there are any openings not taken by region of residence, we will conduct a lottery for out of district students on May 3, 1998.
Even after the completion of these five stages, parents interested in enrolling their children will be encouraged to complete the registration material and enroll their children in the school if space is available, or place their children on the waiting list.
The Enrollment Committee is conducting a broad program of outreach in each of the four municipalities encompassed by the school (Milltown, Highland Park, Edison and New Brunswick). We have resources set aside in our budget to ensure that families of all racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds have an equal opportunity to learn about the school and register their children.
We are publicizing the school through articles and op-ed pieces in local newspapers (including the Home News & Tribune, and The Edison, Metuchen, Piscataway Review and the Highland Park Herald), radio and cable TV interviews (we have already been interviewed numerous times on WCTC and have had several stories about us aired on Channel 12), and through articles in the PTO/PTA newsletters of the schools within our region of residence. We actively seek opportunities to speak at PTO/PTA meetings to familiarize parents of all public school children about the Charter School.
We will conduct meetings and enrollment and registration sessions (please see subsection 5(b)) at a variety of community settings including public libraries and community centers (that are accessible to people who use public transportation), child-care centers, churches, neighborhood organizations (such as the Puerto Rican Action Board), and public housing community rooms. When available, bilingual members of the Enrollment Committee will conduct these meetings in English and Spanish. If they are not available, translators will accompany committee people to meetings on an as-needed. There will be no less than two enrollment sessions held in each of the four municipalities comprising the school. In addition, meetings will be held on different dates at a variety of times, and children's activities will be provided so all parents can attend, despite irregular work hours or a lack of child care.
The Enrollment Committee will also post and pass out leaflets at many community settings, including public elementary schools in the four municipalities, libraries, recreation centers, laundromats, local shops and bodegas, community events, child-care centers, nursery schools, public-housing developments, and other appropriate places. All leaflets, and enrollment and registration materials will be produced in English and Spanish (please see Appendix I: Registration Forms).
Year 1 K - 6
Year 2 K - 7
Year 3 K - 8
Year 4 K - 9
The school will serve K-6th grade in a multi-age grouping format in the first year. The school will grow with the students, adding a grade each successive year until the school serves grades K - 12.
Multi-age groupings will encompass either two or three ages (not grades necessarily), and have a degree of overlap and permeability between them to respond to variations in interests, skills, and talents.
7:30 - 8:30 Morning day-care program
8:30 - 2:30 School day
3:00 - 6:00 Extracurricular activities, tutoring, afternoon day care
The school day begins formally at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m. Informal sessions will take place the hour before and after these hours for individuals or groups. The typical school day will consist of equal parts individual (one-on-one) work and group/class interaction, and will include a period of activity (physical education), lunch, and reflection time (planning time) for both students and teachers.
The school calendar will consist of two parts: a (required) 180-day cycle from September through June and a (voluntary) summer cycle from July through August.
The basic school calendar is as follows:
Sept. 1998
3-4 Teacher Preparation/Development
7 Labor Day - school closed
8 First day for students
21-22 Rosh Hashana - school closed
30 Yom Kippur - school closed
Oct.
12 Columbus Day - school closed
Nov.
13 Staff Development - school closed
25 1/2 day - holiday
26-27 Thanksgiving - school closed
Dec.
24-31 Winter Recess - school closed
Jan. 1999
1 Winter Recess - school closed
4 School reopens
18 Martin Luther King Day - school closed
Feb.
12-15 President's Day Recess - school closed
Mar.
8 Staff Development - school closed
April
1-9 Spring Recess - school closed
12 School reopens
May
31 Memorial Day - school closed
June
22 Last day for students
23 Last day for staff
The Educational Program is a collaborative effort of the learning community, where students, teachers and parents learn, work, and problem-solve together. Our measure of high student achievement will be the development of each child to his or her full potential. Students will have both individual and group educational objectives.
The curriculum will be integrated and flexible, focusing on process and skills, and building on students' prior knowledge and present interests and concerns. Students understand concepts and information better through active exploration of problematic situations that are relevant to their interests and personal lives. Student interests, brought out in discussions and activities, will help guide the choice of content. Content that excites students will motivate application of the pertinent academic skills and knowledge bases described in the New Jersey State Core Curriculum Content Standards.
Students will study topics in depth, making connections within and across subjects. An interdisciplinary approach to subject matter extends student achievement by making connections and putting new information within conceptual frameworks. The curriculum will be adaptable to the multiple ways in which people learn. Adaptations will incorporate a variety of learning approaches (investigation and discovery, individual research, debate, thematic projects, older students teaching younger, review and practice, individual enterprise, or private reflection).
A short, four-point description of "Constructivism in Action" is illustrative:
(Terry Anderson. 1996. "What in the World is Constructivism" Learning. March/April, 49-51)
In short, the Educational Program is based on the idea that both adults and children learn better when
Our curriculum embraces both individual and collaborative learning.
Individual learning is guided by each student's Personal Education Plan. These plans take into account three main tasks applicable to each child:
Determining individual learning styles:
The staff will continually observe children so they can understand each child's dominant learning and processing styles. They could do this through a simple checkbox profile describing basic cognitive, affective, and physiological learning characteristics; this would allow teachers to craft personalized learning strategies (cf. the published work of Judith Reiff, University of Georgia). Because this type of assessment is not necessarily a "once does it" approach, changes in learning styles and development will be taken into account when appropriate.
Setting, revising, and achieving educational goals and objectives:
The child will be actively involved in determining current and desired performance objectives with staff and parents. The child's interests and needs as well as processing style will be utilized to set developmentally appropriate goals in the Personal Education Plan. The goal of these individual plans is to help children learn how to learn independently, and to develop each child's full potential. Students' progress in meeting educational objectives defined by both short- and long-term goals will be routinely assessed.
Developing skills:
The curriculum will help students:
We see two chief aspects to collaborative learning:
Learning as a social process:
The curriculum will have a social component in which collaboration, group decision making, and building positive relationships with peers and adults will be taught. Students will participate in group interactions that draw upon thoughtful debate, consensus building, and conflict resolution skills. Adults will encourage students to investigate and explore their own place in the world around them. Values of empathy, mutual respect and support will be expected of all members and modeled by the adults. Students will be guided and supported in their efforts to develop a code of ethics.
Community building and group relations:
This part of the curriculum will focus on democratic principles and civic responsibilities, encouraging students to create civic institutions within the school, and experience "real-world" institutions outside the school. The point is to provide students with opportunities to earn real and substantive responsibilities within their school. Because learning is stimulated in response to real-life dilemmas and needs, students will be exposed to the variety of real problems that confront our society and collaborate to produce workable solutions. Emphasis will be placed on the value of diversity and cooperation in generating creative approaches to problem-solving. Multi-age groupings are important here because the older children can model for and guide the younger in group processes.
Our teaching staff is faced with a creative challenge: teaching multi-age and heterogeneous classes, integrating the State Core Curriculum Content Standards within interdisciplinary themes and a project-approach framework. Student to staff ratios will be small10 to 12 students per teaching staff member. Incoming staff members will be given extensive training on curriculum delivery, assessment strategies, and lesson planning for a constructivist environment. Further staff and curriculum development will be ongoing as the school grows to a K-9th grade campus by the year 2001. Teachers will have ample daily cooperative planning time in order to share expertise, concerns, and ideas.
Students will be grouped in clusters encompassing grades K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-9, with some overlap depending on the individual's developmental profile. Students will move from one group to the next when ready for a higher level of performance.
The curriculum will encourage students to take more responsibility for their own learning and maturation; adult coaching will guide them as they practice self-expression and control, become more proficient in analyzing their particular strengths and weaknesses and learn to compensate, become more adept in interpersonal relationships, and become more aware of their own feelings of self-worth. Students will have the freedom to make choices and have a voice within the context of the classroom and the larger school, and to assess the outcomes of their personal choices.
The following describes, in part, the educational program students will enjoy during their tenure with the Greater Brunswick Charter School.
Grades K-2:
Morning and afternoon class time for reflection on past activities and progress toward goals; discussion and planning of day's activities; discussion of interpersonal conflicts and possible resolutions; students practice listening and hearing others speak.
Classroom discussions about appropriate code of ethics as class forms its code.
Individual time for self-reflection and expression through a variety of arts media, movement, music, or writing (story-telling, nonfiction).
Extensive representational play involving building blocks, art materials, and real building materials as students explore and share their personal experiences. (This has many links to other disciplinesmaterials science, measurement and experimentation, prediction, geometry, problem-solving, working in groups.)
Organizing the classroom with the teacher, "determining," and "labeling" the various "investigation" areas.
Extensive field trips to the larger school and into the community as students begin to make connections between society systems and their lives.
Extensive contact with the natural world (kids love dirt!) as they experience the ways humans depend on the environment for food, shelter, and support. Activities will include gardening and exploration of ecology systems.
Students will participate in parent/teacher conferences in which the child will be involved in decision making through expressing preferences, choosing portfolio samples to display, and asking questions about the process.
Grades 3-4:
(Many of the above activities continue but with greater articulation and finer detail. Links to the disciplines outlined in the State Core Curriculum Content Standards are more immediately tangible; language arts, math, science, world languages, and computer science will be brought to bear upon all of the following.)
Students will create social institutions within the classrooms (e.g., judicial system, marketplace, government, etc.) as they try to solve real conflicts arising from interpersonal relationships.
Exploration of community life widens focus to the various cultures (past and present) that make up the "flavor" of the neighborhood.
Human habitat exploration expands to encompass geology and its effect on how we live; students use variety of materials to create human (and other) domiciles that solve habitat-specific problems.
Field trips to various ecosystems and geologic sites around the state will give students first-hand experience with manipulation of available natural resources.
Grades 5-6:
Students will be encouraged to help run the school, designing and organizing school-wide social/civic institutions, coaching the younger students, attending General Membership meetings, etc.
Exploration and role-playing of different types of government systems as students compare and contrast the relative values of one structure over another.
Students 10 years old and older can run for positions on the Charter School Board of Trustees after demonstrating proficiency in debate, understanding of school governance procedures, and civic responsibility.
The Student Body will develop its own procedures for dealing with interpersonal conflicts, inappropriate behavior, and miscreant activity.
The students will gain greater autonomy over setting individual learning goals, based on their interests, passions, and learning styles, and an understanding of state standards, family concerns, and societal demands.
Grades 7-9:
The students within this group will broaden their focus on their individual interests, making connections with related fields and disciplines, examining these connections within the context of our society and learning specific work-related skills.
They will devote more time to independent study and academic research. Part of this exploration will extend to the surrounding community through apprenticeships, service-learning classes, part-time employment and/or volunteerism.
Skills involving persuasive writing, communication and interpersonal relationships will be strengthened as students participate in resume writing, placement searches, and interviews with various organizations.
Involvement in community issues and affairs will intensify over the three years, as students are asked to research, generate, and even implement solutions to specific questions they raise as they observe the world around them. They will be encouraged to expand the scope of their studies to the regional and/or national stage through field trips and electronic links to other communities and institutions.
Science content will incorporate the laboratory modules SEPUP (Science Education Public Understanding Program) developed at U.C. Berkeley. These modules provide guided instruction and extensive individual investigation to current social issues in science and technology.
Student design and operation of school-wide entrepreneurial enterprises will be the scaffolding for the development of math, business, and organization skills. These student businesses may also reach out to the larger community, depending on student interest and ability.
School-community partners such as the Urban Ecology Program of Rutgers University will provide additional expertise and mentoring for our students.
The older students will design their own Personal Education Plan in consultation with their teacher(s), identifying benchmarks they need to reach in order to graduate and attain long-term professional and personal goals.
Students will be expected to mentor or coach younger students as part of their on-going training in civic responsibility. They will tutor younger students; teach them about school rules and student governance; facilitate discussion, decision making and consensus building within the student body; and generally play a more active role in Charter School governance.
The Educational Program of the Greater Brunswick Charter is inherently flexible, tuned to the evolving interests and abilities of its students. However, this flexibility exists within a well defined structure that ensures both measurable results and fulfillment of Core Curriculum Content Standards.
The following section describes how specific standards may be addressed within the program. Although, we have documented this in terms of the academic content areas defined within the Standards, our Educational Program is inherently interdisciplinary; and many parts of the curriculum will address multiple academic areas simultaneously.
1. All students will develop career planning and workplace readiness skills.
2. All students will use technology, information, and other tools.
3. All students will use critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
4. All students will demonstrate self-management skills.
5. All students will apply safety procedures.
Child-led learninga key ingredient of the Greater Brunswick Charter School programteaches children to understand and value their interests. This prepares children for the career choices facing them as they progress through high school and beyond. The development of school projects based on one's interests is an effective analog to the development of an individual career plan. As children's interests evolve and broaden, and as they become older, these interests will lead them outside the classroom and into the community.
The Greater Brunswick Charter School Educational Program emphasizes both individual and collaborative work at all grade levels. The emphasis on independent work will help students develop self-management skills as they collaborate increasingly with both teachers and other students to define their individual tasks.
Working independentlywhether it involves conducting research over the Internet, assembling a kite, or planning a presentation on landfillsforces the student to plan ahead, estimate the amount of effort needed to complete a piece of work, solve problems as they occur, and think critically. These are exactly the sort of skills needed to succeed in the workplace.
Working collaboratively with other students and participating in the governance of the school as part of the General Membership will develop in even the youngest students an appreciation and understanding of the social and organizational systems inherent in institutions. This understanding prepares the student for participation in the type of institutions encountered during one's career.
An essential element of the Greater Brunswick Charter School is its ties to the larger community, including Rutgers University, local cultural institutions, social services organizations, and local corporations. Students will have the opportunity to see first-hand the environments, social skills, and technologies that define the workplace.
Visual and performing arts will play a major role throughout the curriculum, under the assumption that the arts provide an effective avenue for the study of science and mathematics, as well as the more obviously connected disciplineslanguage arts, history, and social studies.
Because of our enthusiasm for incorporating the arts in this fashion, we have established relationships with Westminster Choir College of Rider University and the Institute for Arts and Humanities Education (IAHE). Jacque Rubel, the Director Emeritus of the Institute, sits on our Advisory Board, and we have already participated in a number of conferences and seminars with this group. With the help of these two organizations, we plan to incorporate performance and creation of the arts throughout the curriculum.
We have also identified numerous opportunities for the development of aesthetic appreciation throughout the community. We are very fortunate in New Brunswick to have three major theater companies, a large university with major arts programs, and a number of fine museums. We will visit these places and bring performers and visual artists into the classroom.
The process of critiquewith all its interpersonal dimensionsis a springboard for the development of a student's sensitivity towards others, as well as their self awareness. By embedding a range of assessment techniques into our Educational Program, we have set up a process whereby students, teachers, and parents collectively review and discuss the student's work. This objectification of the workthe process of taking a step back and coolly analyzing it without the threat of censure or personal attackwill prepare students for increasingly subtle critiques, whether in the arts or sciences.
Our school is located in a culturally diverse place, where many traditions and cultures intersect, and our enrollment efforts will ensure representative participation from throughout the community. For the students in our school, the endless variety of art, music, speech, and dress will be a regular part of their lives. Through collaborative work and democratic participation in the governance of the classroom and the school, our students will go a long way towards appreciating the differences expressed through the arts. As the students mature, they will approach the study of culture and history in more explicit ways. Deeper, more systematic study will enable them to discover their own connections to the many traditions surrounding us.
Students will play an important organizational role in all grades. Even younger students will be encouraged to put on shows, rearrange their classrooms, plan large-scale projects, and host events.
The health education embedded in the curriculum will be augmented through adjunct relationships with Rutgers University, local hospitals, and local health professionals. The health and science curriculum will help students understand the nature of disease and its prevention, in age-appropriate ways.
The identification of potentially dangerous situations and the development of personal-protection strategies forms an important part of the conflict-resolution curriculum. Children are often more at risk from dangerous interpersonal situations than from accidents. To help achieve the desired civic responsibility and commitment to democratic principles stated in our school's mission, we will provide explicit training in avoiding violent confrontation.
The emotional and social effects of drug abuse exist in plain sight in our community. By encouraging children to ask about what they see (or hear), and by introducing appropriate information through the health curriculum, children will understand the consequences of drug abuse, both for individuals and for the society. The safe, nurturing environment created in our school will help students avoid the pitfalls that come out of ignorance or denial.
Parents/sponsors are true partners with the Greater Brunswick Charter School staff in ensuring the best possible education for our children. The participation of families brings the study of human sexuality and family life into the classroom in a natural way. Children's innate interest in the birth of siblings, the changes in families, and the different types of families begins at the earliest ages. The staff and parents/sponsors can work together to develop lessons and projects to which children can relate easily. An essential part of child-led learning is to encourage children to draw upon their experiences and to ask questions about what is going on in their own lives. Skilled teachers can utilize this to introduce both information and guidance.
Physical educationdance, sports, exercisewill be a regular part of the school day for all students. These activities also facilitate the understanding of one's body and how it works. Teachers will encourage children to attempt progressively more difficult tasks, while at the same time emphasizing safety, physical limitations, and injury prevention.
Teachers will introduce concepts of good nutrition and hygiene both in the classroom and within the context of broader projects; perhaps through the preparation of food in the cafeteria (which will be staffed partly by the General Membership), or through visits to some of our many local health facilities.
Public speaking and focused listening will begin at the earliest grades. Initially, students will engage in discussions based on stories or information presented by the teacher. The teacher will facilitate the discussion by presenting information and posing questions, and then model the desired listening behavior by clearly demonstrating interest in what the children are saying.
The give and take of student discussions fosters a key element of the school's mission: the commitment to preparing students for participation in a democratic society.
The dynamics and techniques of dialogue become a model for thoughtful, responsive discussion. Patient listeningoften a great challenge for younger childrenallows the speaker to form ideas more thoughtfully and with more detail. Clear, concise writing results when students form ideas with precision and have the opportunity and patience to recast a sentence or select a different word.
Teachers will be trained to nurture student writing and creativity while providing the editorial feedback that leads to improvement. The program will allow for a variety of techniques for teaching readingphonics, whole language. The teacher's job will be to discover which mode works best for each student. This insight becomes a part of each student's Personal Education Plan and informs the approaches taken by subsequent teachers.
Teachers and parents/sponsors will encourage students to pursue their interest to deeper, richer sources of information. Teachers will help guide children to materials suitable for their reading ability.
Assessment of a student's portfolio will allow students, parents, and teachers to view similar assignments completed over an extended time and thus identify progress. Other assessment techniques, such as rubrics, can help quantify a student's improvement on a number of levels by separately evaluating content, syntax, and spelling.
Students at the Greater Brunswick Charter School will be encouraged to take an active part not only in designing their individual programs, but in running the school. Participation in classroom and school management will require students to think critically and use numbers realistically and correctly. For example, working on alternative classroom designs will help students develop a sense of space and awareness of geometric principles.
Through an interdisciplinary approach to education, mathematical concepts will intertwine with all other subject areas throughout the day. A strong emphasis on the arts and humanities will enable students to discover the importance of mathematical concepts in the visual and performing arts.
Investigation will be an important component of the curriculum. Group meetings subsequent to investigations will provide opportunities for discussion of problems and all possible solutions. Students will always be encouraged to "find another way."
One of the goals of the Greater Brunswick Charter School is to have each child reach his/her potential. Inherent in this goal is the idea that all students will become mathematical thinkers at a developmentally appropriate level. The implementation of a curriculum which is student-driven will provide the necessary motivation.
Collaborative learning will enhance reasoning ability. As students mature, an outgrowth of such activity will be the development of self-reliant, independent mathematical thinkers.
The use of calculators, computers, and manipulatives will be a routine part of the day. Student curiosity coupled with teacher guidance will enable students to gain proficiency with current technological devices.
Multi-age groupings will serve as the ideal way for students to work with math concepts at their developmental levels. As mastery is achieved, assisting younger students in the group will provide an opportunity to demonstrate proficiency with knowledge and skills in a real-life situation. (This type of activity will also foster a sense of acceptance and community, both essential to the successful functioning of the Greater Brunswick Charter School.)
Student design and completion of projects for display, as well as participation in the after-school program, are two of many avenues that will be available for extending meaning and exposure to more advanced concepts.
At all levels, immersion in mathematical concepts will be routine, meaningful, and will serve as a foundation for further learning.
The Educational Program of the Greater Brunswick Charter School will emphasize doing science, even at the youngest ages. Teachers will encourage children to develop their powers of observation, using their experience of the world and what they see of its behavior to form hypotheses, formulate experiments, and draw conclusions.
Teaching will initiate inquiries by demonstrating some phenomena and inviting the students to repeat or examine it. As students progress, the teacher might simply place them in a particularly rich environmenta wet, overgrown field, a mature forest, or a city streetand allow them to initiate their own projects. In this way, the teacher can use the natural cues of the environment to encourage the development of independent thinking, and further foster a student's individual interests.
Regardless of the object of an inquiry or experiment, it will be the teacher's job to reinforce good scientific practice, to guide students toward genuine research, and to nurture intellectual honesty.
Many science projects are collaborative; the model of collaborative, cooperative work in science speaks directly to the school's mission of civic responsibility and democratic governance.
Because we live in a technological ageone in which interplanetary exploration and sophisticated machines give us glimpses of physical reality on the largest and smallest scalesteachers will have ample material to fuel students' enthusiasm. The recent exploration of Mars could provide months of research and observation. The flexibility of the Educational Program and the direct control exercised by teachers over the curriculum, allow teachers to exploit such events and capitalize on the particularly keen interests of students at a given time. The school will have ample access to the Internet, allowing students to view much of the same information accessible to adult scientists around the world. It is this immediacy and relevance of the scientific experience we wish to convey to our students.
Because scientific inquiries may suggest many possible new directions , teachers will be especially clear in establishing goals, tasks, and end products for students. Students must demonstrate what they have learned in some way and, in the process of demonstrating their knowledge, gain confidence in their own progress.
Because students are assessed based on goals defined from the outset, they learn to become their own best monitors of their progress. The ability to manage oneself and keep focused on specific tasks is essential in any scientific work. However, the flexibility of the curriculum at the Greater Brunswick Charter School allows students to revisit their goals with the teacher, and adjust them as the direction of their work changes. This is also typical of the scientific processthe joy of science often comes from the unexpected result.
Maintaining a portfolio of a student's work over time ensures adequate coverage of all areas of science. Teachers from year to year can identify gaps in a student's work and guide the student toward the information and experiences they need. Teachers will also be in a good position to encourage the student to apply greater rigor to their work. An experiment conducted one year might be worth revisiting in subsequent years with added detail and more elaborate goals. In this way, a student's portfolio can be a powerful testament to their increased knowledge and greater capacity for the scientific process.
In a sense, the entire Greater Brunswick Charter School is a social studies project of a particularly profound nature. The Charter School legislation and the ensuing movement are an expression of democratic citizenship and a challenge to our society's ability to grow new institutions through consensus building, cooperation, and commitment.
Everything about our schoolthe system of governance, the types of assessment employed, the emphasis on family involvement and communityfeed into the Educational Program. Students will be able to read works of literature, history, and philosophy, particularly those dealing with democratic ideals, and test what they are reading against their experience as members of our learning community. The constructivist model of education, building on students' experience, encourages students to think reflectively about their situation. It offers them an opportunity to explore their immediate surroundings in light of larger political and societal ideas.
Teachers will ensure that the curriculum offers works that add to students' understanding of their place in the school, in the community, and in the world. The curriculum will allow students to find connections between some fairly abstract notionscivic responsibility, freedom, ethics, conflictand their daily lives. In this way, the study of history, politics, and other disciplines, comes alive.
We also live in a community which is evolved in very visible ways from the various migrations of people from all over the world. Our membership includes people with ties to every continent except Antarctica. This diversity eloquently illustrates the societal and economic processes we will be reading about, and our curriculum will make use of students' experience in this regard. A geographical awareness might begin by simply identifying, on the globe, the birth places of our extended family members.
It is explicit in the mission of the Greater Brunswick Charter School to foster a diverse, integrated community, one which respects and celebrates differences. By studying the "geography" and history of our community and learning to appreciate the common interests that bring us to the same place at the same time, we will go a long way toward fulfilling that part of the mission.
Our curriculum will include language instruction for all grades, starting with kindergarten. In the younger grades, we may concentrate on languages with particular relevance to our communitye.g., Spanishbut ultimately we plan to offer as many languages as possible. Given the diversity of our current membership, it is likely we could recruit from the Membership native speakers of at least five or six languages. This involvement of the entire learning community is central to our mission; at the same time, it provides us with language instruction opportunities we would not otherwise have.
Teachers will help students explore the relationship between language and culture by posing questions and inviting inquiries that force them to examine their own use of language and how differences between (and within) languages often carry revealing information. Literature is a powerful medium for this, as are television (used judiciously) and radio. The transmission of cultural signals throughout the arts creates a natural bridge between language studies and visual and performing arts, as well as between Social Studies and other disciplines. The curriculum will help students experience the way in which language permeatesand definesculture.
Innovative strategies are implicit in the Charter School's mission and educational goals and objectives. The staff and families of the Charter School will constantly and carefully collaborate to help children reach their full potential, which is our hallmark of high student achievement. This will occur by:
The nutritional, psychological, and medical well being of each child will be addressed at both the practical and curricular levels; this is in keeping with our interdisciplinary approach to the educational program. Partnerships with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's Community Education Program, the Graduate School of Applied Psychology of Rutgers University, and the Middelesex County College Departments of Nutrition and Food Service Management have been established and will provide the school with educational opportunities and important resources in these areas.
In our partnership with Middlesex County College, we can help them create a laboratory school for practical experience in nutritional studies and the training of dietitians whose special interests may be early childhood and adolescent nutritional needs. The relationship also offers an opportunity for an actual school food service management practicum. The benefits to the Greater Brunswick Charter School are the resources we gain for curriculum enhancement and the delivery of nutitionally sound and high quality meals for our students. We can also draw on this partnership to create workshops in nutrition and meal planning for parents and sponsors in our General Membership.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's Community Education Program has agreed to help with both hospital-based classes and curriculum planning for such topics as public health, developing sexuality, family life education, and adolescent development for both our students and staff. This is a particularly valuable association at this time because RWJUH has just received approval to add a Children's Medical Center to their teaching hospital system. We can also draw on their teaching staff's expertise for extended supervision and support of our school nurse.
The Graduate School of Applied Psychology will partner with the Charter School in providing a field placement site for PhD candidates in the field of School Psychology. There is a valuable opportunity here for enhancing the efforts of child study teams and providing additional classroom resources for teachers at every level in the school.
These relationships ensure that our students will have up to date, pertinant information built into the curriculum, as well as the health, nutritional, and counseling services needed to help them perform at their best.
Faculty will be guided by, though not limited to, the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards as they develop challenging programs for each multi-age grouping. The standards directly determine the abilities to be assessed at the end of the 4th, 8th, and 11th grades.
Assessment of both student progress and instruction will be ongoing and interlocked, enabling adjustment as needed. Portfolios will include required items, which will be stored from year to year, to document progress toward benchmarks in each content area.
The high level of parent involvement in the school will help teachers work effectively with each student in developing and monitoring the Personal Educational Plans, which will consider individual learning and processing styles in determining goals and strategies. Small classes, a low student to adult ratio, and attention to individual learning styles and interests, should ensure that all students make steady progress in preparation for the state assessment at 4th, 8th, and, as the school matures, 11th grades.
No less than three times a year, and with the objectives of the school's program and the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards in mind, teachers will collaborate with students and parents in completing written "Progress Summaries" to include both descriptive and quantifiable information about the progress of each student toward the goals and objectives set in his or her educational plan. These summaries will be based on information collected through the following methods:
Within each age grouping, classroom teachers will determine the frequency of use of the various methods, based on appropriateness t