Politics & Government

DOE Grants PIACS Planning Year Extension

Charter school gains extension for second straight year, will focus on gaining zoning board approval for 12 Perrine Road facility to open in Sept. 2012.

The Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS) has been granted a one-year planning extension from the New Jersey Department of Education for the second year in a row.

The DOE announced that 21 previously approved charter schools will be granted a planning year with the anticipation of opening in Sept. 2012, including PIACS.

“Governor Christie and I strongly support the growth of high-quality charter schools to increase the number of options for New Jersey students, because our number one priority is to ensure that all students graduating high school are college and career ready,” said Acting Education Commissioner Christopher D. Cerf via release. “The Christie Administration’s commitment to approving quality charter schools demonstrates the high bar that we must have for any school that is serving New Jersey students.” 

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PIACS was approved in 2010 by the state DOE, but problems with the school’s zoning application caused PIACS to be unable to open as planned at St. Joseph’s Seminary on Mapleton Road in Plainsboro. The DOE then granted the school a one-year planning extension. PIACS requested the extension again this year after determining it would be unable to gain zoning board approval and a certificate of occupancy by the June 30 DOE deadline.

to open at the 41,000-square-foot site that is currently a liquor distribution warehouse.

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Developer 12 P & Associates, LLC, which is owned by former PIACS Board of Trustee Helena May, has a zoning board hearing set for an undetermined date in September.

"The primary difference between a new application and an extension is that if you submit a new application, the DOE looks at it like there's no relationship to the previous application," said PIACS co-founder Parker Block last week. "That gives us the option to make some changes, such as if we want to add grade levels, add languages or change our curriculum. A planning year limits us to working within the confines of the same application." 

The expansion of charter schools has been a top priority of Gov. Christie’s administration. According to the DOE, when a school takes a planning year, "the leadership has additional time to continue to develop the academic and operational components of the school, which are crucial to ensuring that it will be successful when it opens the following year."

The Atlantic Prep Charter High School, which serves Atlantic City, Egg Harbor, and Pleasantville, was the only school not granted a planning year because it failed to demonstrate sufficient progress towards readiness, the DOE said.

"We think that all of the schools taking a planning year have the potential to offer a high-quality educational choice for students,” said Carly Bolger, Director of the Charter Schools Office via release. “However, we believe these schools need additional time to plan and develop, and we will not open a school that we do not believe will be among the best schools in the entire state.”


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