Charter School Founder Defends Application

Just days after a group of Montclair parents launched a letter-writing campaign to try and stop a charter school from opening in Montclair, Tracey Williams, co-founder of the Quest Academy, defended the quality of the organization's application.

In March, the Quest founders applied a fourth time for permission from the state to open a charter high school in Montclair despite being rejected three times by the Department of Education.

"Yes we have been denied three times, however, the denials have not been based on the quality of our application," she said. "The Quest Academy Charter School of Montclair’s proposed curriculum and instructional plan have received high scores and evaluations from both federal and state reviewers [who called] it an 'impressive application' and a 'unique choice' for the parents of Montclair."

Williams invited anyone wishing to see the scoring rubrics, or any other information related to this charter school application, to go to the organization's website.

Indeed, the entire application, submitted on March 31, is available for viewing on the site.

According to the application's summary, Quest Academy Charter School of Montclair’s application articulates a proposal for "a 21st century charter high school, to be located in Montclair, NJ, as a model high school for Technology and Creative Arts, offering a dynamic interdisciplinary curriculum, based on the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Areas.

"Quest Academy Charter School of Montclair will employ the best educational practices, innovations and technological advances to serve the needs of students in Montclair Township. Quest Academy Charter School of Montclair will serve students from 9-12 and will begin with 160 9th and 10th grade students, opening in the fall, 2012.

"For the first time, the parents of children in the town of Montclair will have a choice in the kind of public secondary education that they expect for their children. Montclair High School’s tests result show that not everyone does well in a large comprehensive high school.

"Given that high school is a critical time to build the academic and personal skills that their children will need for post-secondary school and work, the parents of Montclair Township have expressed a desire for more alternatives for their children in public secondary education. They want a choice in programs that will creatively prepare their children in Mathematics, Science, Reading and Writing. Quest Academy Charter School of Montclair is the solution for parents seeking a small, diverse, public secondary school as an alternative to a large, comprehensive high school."

Superintendent Dr. Frank Alvarez has expressed concern over the opening of a charter school, saying it would siphon money away from the school district.

According to the school district's website, "a new school of 160 students will mean Montclair taxpayers will have to come up with $2.1 million more than they do already to fund the school. And even with 160 fewer students at Montclair High School, services will still be needed for the remaining students. A cut of over $2 million would mean many more layoffs."

The board statement also noted that federal law requires charter schools to spend 90 percent of per-pupil costs on instruction-related expenses.

As previously reported by Patch, the approved an emergency resolution Saturday to change the association’s policy on charter schools and allow it to lobby the Legislature on pending bills that would allow voters and school boards to have input into charter school decisions.

“Charter schools are part of the landscape,” said state Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex) at the NJ Spotlight forum. “We need to find a way to rationally and unemotionally find a way to talk about the issue.”