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TRENTON, NJ—The Assembly Education Committee received testimony today regarding the history and implementation of the “Charter School Program Act of 1995.”
In response, Janellen Duffy, executive director of JerseyCAN: The New Jersey Campaign for Achievement Now, highlighted the importance of continuing to meet parent demand for charter schools in New Jersey. “Families across New Jersey are demonstrating their strong preference for charter schools as evidenced by the more than 20,000 students waiting for a seat,” she said.
“In Newark, for example, parents’ top picks in universal enrollment for the last couple of years have been high-quality charter schools. Efforts to spread misinformation about charters and more importantly efforts to pause or place a moratorium on charter expansion only serve the interests of those calling for such measures and harm students and families who are seeking high-quality school options.
“All our public school children need support and commitment and it’s important that we stop demonizing charter schools and focus on how we can help, improve and properly fund every public school,” added Duffy.
Altorice Frazier, who attended the hearing and is a Newark parent of three public charter school students added: “We want to live by choice, not by chance. We can’t wait idly for our education system to fix itself, and thanks to public charter schools, parents have been empowered to choose a different way forward for our children. The public charter school sector in New Jersey has given thousands of children and families like mine access to excellent educational opportunities.”
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JerseyCAN: The New Jersey Campaign for Achievement Now is a nonprofit education research and advocacy organization that advocates for a high-quality education for all New Jersey kids, regardless of their address. Learn more at www.jerseycan.org.