The principal of a local Catholic high school that is scheduled to close indefinitely in June recently proposed a new charter school to serve the same student population.
Bruce Segall, the principal of St. Joseph of the Palisade High School in West New York, and six fellow founders have applied for state approval of a school that would serve approximately 400 ninth through 12th graders from West New York, Union City, and North Bergen.
“When we heard and knew it was going to close we felt that we could address the same needs and the same students.” – Bruce Segall
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“We felt that St. Joseph was providing an important service to the area, and when we heard and knew it was going to close we felt that we could address the same needs and the same students,” said Segall.
The application for the new Palisades Charter School was one of 27 the state received for new charter schools. All applications are currently being reviewed.
Those that are approved will be announced this coming September and could open in September 2010.
In a recent release, New Jersey Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy said that the state has an increase in interest this year in creating more charter schools.
“We received two more applications than we did last year, which indicates to us that the charter school movement in New Jersey is still going strong,” said Davy.
Individual attention needed
Segall said that the local community is in need of a smaller charter school that can provide each student with individual attention.
“Our mission is to provide socioeconomically challenged students with the highest education possible, so they can be able to not only survive but be successful in the global economy,” said Segall.
He said that the school his team has proposed will also be founded on high principals.
“We are basing it on the National Honor Society standards,” said Segall, “leadership, character, scholarship, and service.” He said those themes will come through in the curriculum, and students will be required to do community service. The curriculum will also be in line with state standards, he noted.
The new charter school will offer additional innovative features, said Segall, such as rotating schedules and even class on Saturdays for those students “who we find are really falling behind state standards and need extra help.”
Saturdays would also provide time for enrichment courses, such as SAT preparation, and disciplinary action as an alternative to suspension.
“Charter schools that are successful are those that have longer school years, longer days,” said Segall.
He also said that the new charter school may forge a relationship with St. Peter’s College in Jersey City to develop a program through which education majors could help out with the charter school.
“It is pretty much a win-win for the college and the school,” said Segall.
The specifics
In the application to the state, Segall and his team were required to specify a location for the new charter school, and they suggested St. Joseph’s current building; however, nothing has been finalized and Segall said he is open to other possibilities.
“In September, if the parish has decided not to rent to us, we have some other buildings in mind,” he said. “First thing is to get the approval, then get the lease, and then we’ll be off and running.”
Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, said it is too early to speculate about whether the proposed charter school will be at the St. Joseph location.
Not in favor
But he added that the archdiocese is not in favor of the project.
“The archdiocese sponsors Catholic schools, so we are not supportive of this effort and we are not participating in this effort,” he said. “Our goal is always to encourage families to attend Catholic schools.”
He also said that St. Joseph, with its impending close, is currently focused on helping its students enroll at other Catholic institutions.
Another potential Hudson County charter school currently in review is the Hoboken Dual Language Charter School, an elementary school.
Amanda Staab can be reached at astaab@hudsonreporter.com.