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| Boys and Girls Club- Hoboken NJ |
New Jersey Education Commissioner David Hespe granted an expansion and charter renewal in a March 20 letter to Hoboken Dual Language Charter School (HoLa) Board of Trustees President Barbara Martinez.
In April 2014, the public school district sued HoLa and the state over its March 28, 2014 decision to approve the K-5 charter school's 2013 request for a five-year renewal and expansion to include grades 6-8.
Among its concerns with the charter, the district claimed that HoLa, located at 123 Jefferson Street, has shown a trend of segregation since its 2010 opening.
The district said the percentage of minority students at the bilingual school had been about half the district's for three years.
On Friday, Hespe said a state review, and a review of information submitted by Feb. 2 from both HoLa and the Hoboken district, led the state to find the district's argument invalid.
"As the department's analysis of publically available student enrollment and census data shows, HoLa is not having a segregative effect in the Hoboken public schools. Therefore, I reaffirm the department's 2014 decision that HoLa charter school is renewed with its expansion for a period of five years through June 30, 2019," the commissioner stated.
Both HoLa and Hoboken school officials did not return a request for comment on Friday afternoon.
HoLa opened about five years ago and teaches in both Spanish and English to grades kindergarten through fifth grade and already has approval to add sixth grade classes.
In 2013, the controversy began when the school requested to add more grades.
Hoboken school district's fight against this expansion has been ongoing since the district first began penning a letter to the state in 2013, urging it to temporarily block the renewal.
Citing funding, diversity and other issues, Superintendent Mark Toback said a study of the effectiveness of charter schools in the city should be conducted before the state signs off on a renewal or expansion of the HoLa Hoboken Dual Language Charter School.
According to the state review, while HoLa enrolls more white students percentage-wise than the district, the district's percentage of white students "actually increased since HoLa opened in 2010," and the percentage of Hispanic students decreased.
"Instead the data points to an overall population shift in the last ten years in the city of Hoboken, which began before the opening of HoLa charter school," Hespe said. He said the "demographic composition of HoLa's student population seems to better reflect Hoboken's population" than Hoboken school district - given how the charter was charged with enrolling a cross-section of Hoboken's school-age population.
The charter school's maximum enrollment in 2018-2019 will be 405, he said. It is currently 292.
The charter school's maximum enrollment in 2018-2019 will be 405, he said. It is currently 292.
Laura Herzog may be reached at lherzog@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LauraHerzogL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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| First Day of Spring- Hoboken, NJ March 20, 2015 |
