Schools

Hua Mei Charter School Makes First Cut in Latest Review

Proposed charter school would draw students from West Orange

Charter schools are inching ever closer to West Orange. The charter school application for , a Mandarin-immersion school that would draw students from West Orange, is one step closer to being approved, according to NJ Spotlight.

Hua Mei is one of 17 proposed charter schools in New Jersey that is still in the running, according to Gov. Chris Christie. So far, more than half of the 42 charter school applications have been rejected.

If approved, Hua Mei would be housed in the St. Joseph’s RC Church on Prospect Avenue in Maplewood and draw students from South Orange-Maplewood and West Orange.

Find out what's happening in West Orangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Anthony Cavanna said Hua Mei would would drain money from school district.

"If students from West Orange want to attend the charter school, the district has to pay a 90 percent per pupil expenditure to the charter school and it will add to the budget," he said at .

Find out what's happening in West Orangewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Cavanna cited the Princeton school district which pays almost $4 million a year to the charter school in their town. He said West Orange could find itself in a similar situation.

In September, as the state charter school office to determine the strengths of the proposed programs. The Hua Mei charter school application was denied along with  Hanyu International Academy, another Mandarin-immersion school that would have been based in Livingston and also have drawn students West Orange.

Hua Mei, though, among the "in-district" school districts from which Hua Mei would draw.

Carlos Perez, the President and CEO of the New Jersey Charter Schools Association, said that when the state denies an application, the schools often receive feedback on why it was not approved.

"Using that information, the school should decide whether it’s worth reapplying or if there are issues they feel they can work on to improve their operation," Perez said. "If a school is just submitting the same proposal and addressing the issues raised by the authorizer, then they need to be denied again."

Being denied the first time often helps the founders of a school, he said.

During Monday night's meeting, parents wondered why West Orange remained within the parameters of Hua Mei.

Cavanna said the state had advised the founders of Hua Mei to remove Livingston and Millburn from their application. "Out of all the geographical locations, those parents were the "

Hua Mei, though, could still draw from Livingston and Millburn if they do not meet its quota of students, he said.

School officials urged parents to express their concerns about charters in the area and send their own letters to the commissioner.

In a school officials wrote:

"Although we support the idea of opportunities for alternative educational options if a district is not meeting their students' needs, we are however adamantly opposed to a charter school that would be a duplication of well established and highly regarded programs."

Cavanna said West Orange is not a failing district and already boasts an award-winning Mandarin Chinese Program.

New Jersey currently has 80 charter schools in operation, serving close to 30,000 students. Another 25 are slated to open next fall. Four of those were approved by the state in the last round of applications.

Meanwhile, the state will continue its review of the remaining 17 applications over the next month, requesting additional information and in-person interviews from the schools still under consideration. Final approvals are to be announced January 17.


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