The KIPP network will file an application with the New Jersey Department of Education on Thursday asking for permission to build 5 new schools in the state's largest city
Newark Collegiate Academy, one of 8 KIPP charter schools currently operating in Newark. The organization is filing an application with the state Department of Education that would allow it to to build up to five new schools in the city. (Amanda Brown/The Star-Ledger) NEWARK - The KIPP charter school network is planning to open five new schools in Newark in the years to come - a decision that is likely to deepen an already sizeable divide in city education circles.
The organization announced its plans Wednesday morning at TEAM Academy, the first of its Newark schools, saying it will file an application to the state Department of Education on Thursday to renew its certification and seek permission for the expansion.
If successful, the plan would give KIPP the ability to operate up to 15 schools in Newark, and to add 5,440 new seats, nearly tripling their current enrollment of approximately 3,200.
In a statement, KIPP Executive Director Ryan Hill said the applications are the result of sustained success at the privately run schools that have consistently convinced parents to enroll their children there, and created a waiting list thousands of names deep.
"Today's filing represents an affirmation of our commitment to the families we already serve, and those who have made it clear that they want to be a part of the KIPP New Jersey family as well," he said.
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The announcement is the latest sign that steady climb of charters, which now enroll nearly 40 percent of Newark children, shows no sign of letting up. New York-based Uncommon Schools recently filed an application with city planning officials to establish a 12th North Star Academy school in the city on a former Star-Ledger property in the Central Ward.
But many education advocates argue that the growth of charters have made things anything but steady for the city's public schools. Falling enrollment in the state-controlled district has forced many of the facilities to shut down, and students in those that remain often face overcrowding or other adverse conditions.
South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James, who attended this morning's announcement along with council colleagues Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins, Anibal Ramos Jr. and Eddie Osborne, said he was uneasy about any charter expansions impact on a perception that students in public schools were being left behind.
"I've never been anti-charter, but all of the expansion without a solution for the public schools is tearing our community apart," he said. "What is the state's solution? We're not hearing the answers."
Superintendent of Schools Christopher Cerf, a longtime school reform advocate and former state education commissioner now overseeing the public school district, declined to comment, saying he had not seen KIPP's application.
KIPP spokeswoman Jessica Shearer said the network expects to receive a decision on both its renewal and proposed expansion by March. The proposed five new schools would include two elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school, which would likely be placed in the South, West and Central Wards.
The organization is currently approved to operate up to 10 schools in the city. Only eight are currently in use, though another building on Littleton Avenue in the West Ward is currently under construction.
Newark School Advisory Board member Rashon Hasan, who also attended Wednesday morning's announcement, said he felt that efforts to stem the expansion of charters were unlikely to bear fruit given the demand from families. However, he resolved to ensure that the city's educational system did not devolve into a stark contrast of haves and have-nots.
"At the end of the day, it's our job to make sure that every school in the city of Newark is a great school," he said.
Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
