Students at BelovEd Community Charter School of Jersey City learned about recycling and about the power of the vote two weeks ago, after accumulating 178,303 playground credits to win the Recycled Playground Challenge, a contest put on by Colgate, ShopRite, and TerraCycle recycling.
The charter school accumulated credits by recycling waste and on-line voting, and received as a reward a new playground constructed out of recycled toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, and floss containers collected through Colgate’s Oral Care Brigade.
ShopRite stores launched the challenge last March as a way to engage schools throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, and Maryland to participate.
During the contest period, schools earned Playground Credits for each shipment of empty toothpaste tubes, floss containers, and toothbrushes sent to TerraCycle. The cutoff date was June 30. Schools could also earn additional credits by getting people to vote on-line.
Justin Skala, president of North America and Global Sustainability for Colgate-Palmolive, congratulated the school and its students.
“Character schools have to perform well or they have to close. This school is doing very well.” – Bret Schundler
____________
Lawrence Inserra, owner of ShopRite stores throughout the state, including in Jersey City, Bayonne, and North Bergen, said he was thrilled that the winner of the contest was so close to home.
Mayor Steven Fulop noted that both ShopRite and Colgate have a long history in Jersey City, part of the texture of the community.
A school on the rise
Bret Schundler, former mayor of Jersey City and former Commissioner of the state Department of Education, said the school and its staff worked hard to win the playground.
The school opened as BelovEd in 2013, and added an additional wing in 2014, but did not have a playground.
Schundler – known pretty much as the grandfather of charter schools in Jersey City – serves as a consultant for the school, and on this day did a number of small duties such as carrying signs and taking people on tours as if a proud parent.
He became a strong supporter of the charter school movement after becoming mayor in 1992, and is personally responsible for helping to open the Golden Door Charter School currently located on JFK Boulevard in Jersey City. But he is also one of the people who pushed for legislation that would enable charter schools to develop throughout the state.
Not all the school’s 600-student population was on hand for the ceremony.
“We have about 72 kids today,” he said. “A lot of the others are on a field trip. But all our kids will be using the playground.”
With leaves turning from green to gold, and the first chill of the fall, Schundler and other officials gathered to celebrate the new addition to the school yard.
This is symbolic of the success of the school itself as the community got together to collect enough credits to win over schools throughout six states.
This is a charter school on the move, expanding incrementally. It started with grades Kindergarten through third grade, added the fourth grade with the expansion, and soon expects to add a fifth grade.
The school brokered a deal with the housing authority to take over other property on Grand Street.
BelovEd is currently expanding, adding grades each year, and is about to break ground on a new middle school located across Grand Street with a potential high school in the more distant future. He said the middle school is scheduled to open in September 2016.
“We recently acquired land from the Jersey City Housing Authority for our middle school,” he said, and noted that the success in the contest for the playground was an example of the strong community support the school has.
“Charter schools have to perform well or they have to close,” he said. “This school is doing very well.”
He said the school is geared around promoting character and values that students can carry with them into their lives and careers.
“We want them to use these skills in the broader community, to make a positive impact wherever they go,” Schundler said.
State Sen. Sandra Cunningham said the program was a wonderful way of teaching kids about the importance of the environment and about brushing their teeth.
“School is not just about the x’s and o’s, ” said Elijah Wells, former PTO president for the school. “This is about the social time that kids could develop friendships for the rest of their lives.”
Jomarya Torres, a teacher at the school, said winning the contest showed the ability of the kids to mobilize the community, and was proof that hard work, perseverance, and determination can pay off.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.