Get What You Need

The offices of the Newark Charter School Fund sit in the developing Lincoln Park section of Newark. (PHOTO: SHARON McCLOSKEY/NEWS21)

NEWARK, N.J. - When the Newark Charter School Fund was announced in April 2008, it certainly created a splash.  True, Newark schools had been getting increased attention with the election of its young, Ivy-educated mayor, Cory Booker. Several Newark schools had been commended on their own merits.

But the creation of the fund placed Newark squarely on the education reform stage, primed to attract big private money. Since then, Fund officials have been busy immersing themselves in the Newark education scene, getting to know the players and the schools and ascertaining needs.

While designated as aid for charter schools, the commitment is larger than that, said Fund partner Mashea Ashton. “The funders are invested in the city as a city that closes the achievement gap,” said Ashton. “Can Newark be one of the first to close the achievement gap?”

According to partner De´Shawn Wright, the funders have committed a total of $22 million to be awarded over three years.  National foundations - the Bill and Melinda Gates, Robertson, and Walton Family foundations and the Doris & Donald Fisher Fund - have each pledged $4 million, and an anonymous donor, $2 million. In addition, four New Jersey-based foundations - Prudential, Victoria, GEM and MCJ Amelior - each also pledged $1 million to support the Newark charter sector over a three-year period.

Distributions from the fund have taken a bit of time, as the fund´s partners get to know the schools. “It´s less about what we dictate than about what the schools need,” said Mashea Ashton.  “Each of the partners have relationships with different charter schools in Newark - we try to get to know the schools, what their needs are, and talk about how we can help them.”

Once a need is identified, the partners have a conversation about whether to proceed with a recommendation for approval by our Board, said Wright.  “We don´t do any open grant announcements.”   The Board consists of a representative from each of the five major funders.

Awards are made around five identified program areas:  human capital, aid to mature schools, facilities finance and access, charter school incubation, and program evaluation and advocacy.

Wright estimates that about $5 million has been expended or committed so far.

Approximately $2 million has gone towards human capital initiatives, including partnerships with Teach for America and the New Teacher project, programs that place young teachers in classrooms through alternative routes.  Teacher training has benefitted both the charter and district schools, both of which have drawn from their teacher pools, said Wright. “We´re always trying to find ways to share resources between the charters and the district.”

Approximately $580,000 has gone to aid new charter school development, which includes assistance to newly approved schools - Newark Educators Community Charter School, for example - during the planning year.  Such schools need help with operations and board development during that transition year. Another $580,000 or so has gone to existing schools, some of whom may are expanding.

Other awards have aided charter school advocacy in areas such as facilities funding and parent education projects like GreatSchools.net, which acts as a clearinghouse for parent options.

And money has also been awarded to aid district-wide initiatives, such as the recently-formed partnership with Rutgers, the Newark Schools Research Collaborative, which will track students as they progress through district and charter schools.

With an estimated $5 million spent or committed in year one of a three-year initiative, plenty remains to help Newark charter schools achieve and maintain the quality the fund partners envision.

Fund partners Ashton and Wright think that Newark charter schools are already well on their way.  That´s due in part to the state´s tough approval process, said Wright.  What they´d like to see going forward in Newark is a public school system that provides every child with an excellent education, he added.

“I, and this fund, are not married to whether that happens on the charter side, or the district side or even the private side.  What we believe is that charters are an important piece of the puzzle to provide additional options for the parents and kids of Newark.   We will do the best on our side to see that that sector has quality.”

More than $15 million awaits in the Newark Charter School Fund, there for those who might ask.  You might not get what you want, but …