With more than 100 public and private schools in Jersey City, there are clearly a lot of educational options – but finding time to do the research and make a final choice can be hard.
“I originally came from New York and didn’t realize that New Jersey has such a variety of options,” said Laurie Coppola, assistant to the principal of the Cornerstone School, a private academy for children from kindergarten through eighth grade. “But after working here for a while, I can see it’s the result of families in Jersey City simply demanding a choice.”
While Jersey City’s nearly 60 neighborhood public schools present plenty of opportunities for free education, parents appreciate that they don’t have to settle for that alone.
There are more than 50,000 school-age children in town. The local demographic makeup contains all major ethnic groups. To serve them are public schools (including Academic High School), private schools, parochial schools, and public independently formed charter schools.
Charter schools
Charter schools, while part of the public school system, offer a free option for parents and students looking for something more tailored to their child’s individual needs and preferences.
State law in the mid 1990s allowed parents and educators to start their own schools relatively free of local Board of Education oversight, although they do get public funding. They must apply to the state for their charters which, once granted, must be renewed every five years. The charters help define what the school offers.
“Parents in Jersey City can apply to any charter school,” explained Greg Monte, vice principal at the sixth-through-eighth grade Gateway Charter School. “We’re a public school with almost 500 students, so we have to – and want to – abide by the rules of comprehensive and effective academic instruction. But we’re also a charter school, so we can concentrate on what we call entrepreneurial training, which sets us apart.”
One bonus of charter schools is that the class sizes are usually smaller than in the other public schools, which most parents appreciate. One disadvantage, however, is that there is sometimes a waiting list to get in.
Michele Wilson, a parent with two pre-teens at the Schomburg Charter School, was lucky. “I had heard so many good things about the school that I wasn’t sure my girls would get in,” she said. “But at that time there wasn’t a waiting list.”
Today there is one.
“When you apply for a charter, you’re stating that you’re doing something different,” said Brian Stiles, principal of the Golden Door Charter School.
Golden Door’s 492 kindergarten through eighth grade students learn through DI, a method of accelerated learning pioneered by college professor Siegfried Engelmann, which seeks to maximize efficiency in the development and delivery of the instruction. Teachers at Golden Door use a carefully tested and scripted program, followed by individual modification based on student performance.
“Direct Instruction [DI] is one of the things we do that’s different from what most other schools do,” Stiles said.
Golden Door had once been run by a private corporation – Advantage Schools – but administrators there ended that relationship. Several incidents in the last few years have shone a harsh spotlight on charter schools. In 2000, for instance, the state’s Department of Education placed Golden Door on three-month probation while Advantage’s financial problems, including a $600,000 deficit, were examined. Once Advantage was out of the picture, Golden Door was able to return to a healthier fiscal outlook.
Similarly, Edison Charter Schools, a Boston-based company, helped found and initially ran Jersey City’s Schomburg Charter School, but that school, too, is now on its own. As with Golden Door, administrators at Schomburg seem quite pleased to be free of corporate ties.
Jersey City resident Michele Wilson said she was at one time leery of charter schools because one of her daughters had gone to a charter school that failed completely.
“Starting up a school is no easy task,” admitted Karen Jones, chief academic officer at Schomburg Charter School. “Management companies can certainly help. But they also need to know when to step out.”
Now in its fifth year, Schomburg has 465 kindergarten through fifth grade students, and the “open door” policy that is part of its charter is as impressive to parents as its scholastic enhancements, including one of the only gifted and talented programs in the school system.
“At our school, when a parent wants to come in to talk with the administration or observe a class, no appointment is ever necessary,” Jones said.
Private schools
Despite a bumpy economy, most private schools, primarily for the elementary and middle grades, have been enjoying higher enrollments.
At the Cornerstone School for kindergarten through eighth grade, enrollment has nearly doubled in recent years to about 150, which Laurie Coppola says is attributable to such offerings as impressive fieldtrips and special events.
“More than 90 percent of what children learn is visual,” Coppola said, “which is why instead of just handing out dittos that students look at and try to memorize, we actually have them create things on their own that they can look at and memorize.”
At Primary Prep Elementary School, which includes kindergarten through eighth grade, the list of boasting points includes small class size. The school currently has just 142 students.
“We try not to exceed 15 students in any one class,” said Principal Maureen Hoffman. “Teachers are already extremely dedicated to their students, and our classroom sizes make that an even easier proposition.”
The 26-year-old Mt. Pisgah School accepts just 30 students from pre-kindergarten through third grade.
“It would be hard to find a more dedicated staff,” said Marlyn Allen, an administrative coordinator at Mt. Pisgah. “In fact, many parents live in surrounding suburbs, work in Jersey City, and enroll their children at Mt. Pisgah both for the logistics of doing so, and for the quality of the education their children will get while they’re here.”
Parochial schools
The city has more than 30 tuition-based religious schools – and they’re packed.
“A lot of the motivation for sending children to these schools has to do with the overall quality of the experience,” said George Corwell, associate director for education at the Trenton-based New Jersey Catholic Conference. “Parochial school education is a proven product, and a variety of studies bear this out. Parents are interested in stability and safety, not just in religious teaching, and that’s what these schools provide.”
The success of Jersey City’s parochial schools is evident. Saint Dominic Academy, for example, eagerly promotes its remarkable selection of student activities, and Hudson Catholic Regional High School is noted district-wide for its science education.
The 127-year-old Saint Dominic Academy, administered by the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell, is a women’s high school with 520 students. They can get involved in chess, drama, the model U.N., social concerns, animal rights, the environmental and independent film clubs, and about 25 other groups.
While there may be no studies specifically linking club activity to academic success, Saint Dominic’s graduating class last year earned nearly $5 million in college scholarships.
“Our academic reputation is unquestionable, but our list of activities is just amazing,” said Carolyn Smith, director of public relations and recruitment.
Tuition to Saint Dominic’s is currently $6,600, which is in the same ballpark as most parochial and secular private schools.
“The cost of educating each student is actually closer to $7,300,” Smith noted, “but we strive to keep tuition down through alumni donations, endowments, and other means of financial support.”
Suzanne Hennessey, a teacher in the Bayonne public school system whose daughter attends Saint Dominick, said that the school spirit and peer group selection led her to the school.
“That, and the fact that I’m a graduate of the school myself,” she added proudly.
Hudson Catholic Regional High School’s science program has been ranked number one of its kind in the county. Part of the Archdiocese of Newark and run by the De La Salle Christian Brothers of Jersey City, the school has an enrollment of 600 boys. In addition to a dozen labs available for scientific activities, most students also belong to one of the school’s 27 separate sports teams.
“With 600 boys, we have to be athletically-oriented,” said Terry Matthews, director of admissions. But as far as the athletic program draws in students, he added, the school’s academic program does so as well; Hudson Catholic has a 100-percent college admission and attendance record.
St. Peter’s Prep has one of the best reputations in the state. Founded in 1872, the Jesuit high school for boys in ninth through twelfth grades has a six-building campus for its 938 students. An independent college preparatory school, St. Peter’s Prep has a classical assortment of high-endeavor academic offerings such as Latin, Greek and advanced computer science, in addition to such courses as Holocaust studies and bioethics. Students can also participate in one or more of the 15 separate sports the school offers.
Public schools and other alternatives
Of course, the city has an array of public schools, including five public high schools. Depending on the school and its neighborhood, each one has a different reputation.
The most vaunted school has been McNair Academic High School, a public school magnet for the district’s brightest children. The school, which has been ranked first in New Jersey Monthly’s annual school rankings, requires students to take a test before gaining admission.
The McNair curriculum is also available to students in four other Jersey City public high schools through the “Academic High School Program” run by McNair.
There are also schools where specific ethnic groups, as well as special needs children, may find a valuable home for at least a portion of their education. These include private schools such as Al Ghazaly Elementary School, which is part of the Islamic Education Foundation of New Jersey, and ABC Elementary School, which has an enrollment of predominantly African-American students.
Jersey City is also home to several special schools for troubled or disadvantaged youth, some within the school system and some sponsored by the government.
Head Start, which has three facilities in town to provide an education for the littlest students. Administered by a division within the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Head Start focuses on increasing the school readiness of kids up to age 5, mostly from low-income families.
Some school choices
Cornerstone School, Laurie Coppola, 2737 Kennedy Blvd., (201) 435-5049.
Saint Dominic Academy, Carolyn Smith, 2572 Kennedy Blvd., (201) 434-5938.
Hudson Catholic Regional High School, Terry Matthews, 790 Bergen Ave., (201) 332-5970.
Primary Prep Elementary School, Maureen Hoffman, 2495 Kennedy Blvd., (201) 333-8844.
Mt. Pisgah School, Marlyn Allen, 577 Bergen Ave., (201) 435-4175.
Gateway Charter School, Greg Monte, 119 Newkirk St., (201) 653-0016.
Schomburg Charter School, Karen Jones, 508 Grand St., (201) 451-7770.
Golden Door Charter School, Brian Stiles, 180 Ninth St., (201) 795-4400.
ABC Elementary School, 228 Bidwell Ave., (201) 435-8326.
Al Ghazaly School, 17 Park St., (201) 433-5002.