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Schools

Charter Anxiety: A Suburban Malady?

As backlash grows in the suburbs, the reaction in the cities is more complicated.

A Senate hearing yesterday on charter schools brought out many of the same familiar faces, led by a growing cadre of parents from suburban communities like Princeton, Highland Park, East Brunswick, and a new one to the list, Cherry Hill.

While more than half of all of New Jersey's charter schools operate in its poorest cities, there was nobody from places like Paterson, Trenton, and Camden. They weren't entirely without representation, to be sure, as various advocates stepped up to speak, but New Jersey's fierce debate over charter schools has had a distinctly suburban feel of late.

That raises the question: where are the cities in what some have called the growing backlash against charters in New Jersey? What are the reactions there?

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Interviews with an array of players and observers on hand yesterday found there is not one answer to those questions, just as there is not one set of circumstance for any city, let alone every school.

For some, charters in their 15 years in New Jersey have settled into a complementary role in places like Newark and Jersey City, where few argue the traditional schools could use some help.

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Thomas Dunn Jr., a lobbyist for the state's superintendents association, recalled that when he was superintendent in Elizabeth he raised objections to a charter school application there.

"But clearly when you are a high-needs district and the needs of a number of students are not being fully met, it may be counterproductive to oppose additional opportunities for them," he said.

Yet others said the same tensions underlie the coexistence of charters and public schools in the cities. They're just not voiced with slogans at Senate hearings or suburban rallies. Recent turmoil in Newark over charters and districts schools sharing space brought hundreds out to voice opinions, if not outrage.

"It's not that we don't hear the concerns," said Sharon Krengel, policy and outreach coordinator for the Education Law Center in Newark. "With more charter schools in places like Newark, we actually hear more."

Continue reading this story in NJ Spotlight.

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