Newark Prep Charter School is requesting Competitive Contracting Proposals for a vendor to provide food preparation and delivery services. All bids must be delivered or mailed to 570 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102 in sealed envelopes by 10:00 am on Friday, December 28, 2012.
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Citybiz Real Estate
May 29, 2012
Two new charter high schools, Newark Prep and Spirit Prep, are slated to open in September at 570 Broad Street in downtown Newark.
The schools will occupy four floors totaling 60,000 square feet in the 15-story, 200,000-square-foot former First State National Bank building, which is owned and managed by The Berger Organization.
Managed by K12, a national provider of online learning education, each school will combine college-prep and career readiness programs with an online learning curriculum and a focus on the needs of Newark area students.
Currently, North Star Academy, Newark Collegiate Academy and Visions Academy are the only charter schools open to rising ninth graders in Newark.
The lack of alternative choices for Newark high school students is one of the main reasons why the schools’ founders collaborated to develop two schools – distinct in themes, but similar in innovation, according to Darren Reed, vice president of blended schools at K12 Inc.
Newark Prep, whose enrollment is open to students who reside in Newark, will mix traditional instruction with an interactive online learning program that meets students where they are and allows them to accelerate at their own pace.
570 Broad Street’s proximity to transportation hubs Newark Penn Station, Broad St. Station and two light rail stops, makes the school accessible to students from all across the city.
Spirit Prep, open to Newark, East Orange and Irvington residents, is designed to fulfill the needs of an underserved population of music students. Students will be within walking distance of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark Museum, and radio station WBGO Jazz 88.
“We are a public high school option dedicated to providing students with a first-class blended learning experience in a school environment that is permeated with music,” said Harold Wright, president of the Spirit Prep board of trustees.
The schools will occupy the first four floors of 570 Broad Street, which is currently undergoing a multi-million-dollar renovation.
In addition to being located within walking distance of transportation hubs, 570 Broad Street is across from Newark’s Washington Square Park near local dining, shopping and lodging, as well as such entertainment venues as Prudential Center, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Newark Bears Stadium. The property is also within walking distance of the Newark campuses of Seton Hall and Rutgers universities, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Newark Technology in Education Examiner
Florence McGinn
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Two, new public charter high schools in Newark, New Jersey, will combine adaptive online learning and face-to-face instruction in the 2012-2013 school year. Both Newark Prep and Spirit Prep, public charter schools approved by the New Jersey Department of Education, will offer ninth grade in their first year. Both schools will add the remaining, high school grades in subsequent years. The schools, each governed by an independent, nonprofit school board led by local educators and community leaders, will share a facility located in Newark at 570 Broad Street.
Academic individualization emphasized
Blended learning will be deployed by Newark Prep and Spirit Prep, and academic individualization is designed to be a hallmark of both schools. Blended learning turns the typical school environment on its head. Rather than a “one size fits all” program of distinct periods and bells, these blended schools will offer students flexible block scheduling and engaging project-based learning activities, both online and in a classroom setting.
Daily onsite attendance
Flexibility in blended learning is deployed to maximize students’ unique skills and styles of learning. Students still will attend school onsite every day. However, each school will structure schedules, so students are able to progress at their own pace and receive the enrichment or remediation they need.
K12 Inc. curriculum
EdNET Insight has named K12 Inc. as a leading provider of online programs to school districts. K12′s innovative blended learning programs are used in public charter schools and school districts in cities throughout the country, including Chicago, San Francisco, and Indianapolis. Over 2,000 public schools and public school districts across the country use K12′s courses, assessments, and instructional services in online and blended schools, and traditional classrooms. Their K12 curriculum was named a 2011 top product award winner in District Administration.
Both Newark Prep and Spirit Prep will use curriculum and school services provided by K12 Inc., the nation’s largest provider of K-12 online learning programs. Darren Reed, Vice President of Blended Schools at K12 Inc. states, “K12 is excited to provide our high quality curriculum and instructional services to Newark Prep and Spirit Prep. Through blended learning, teachers and educators are finding new ways to better personalize instruction, and help students engage, learn, and succeed.”
Newark Prep
Adrianna Meherji, President of the Newark Prep Board of Trustees, indicates, “Newark Prep’s blended learning model will offer families the best education has to offer today: face-to-face instruction and online learning. Our students will have the flexibility of a truly personalized education, thus providing them access to the best educational resources, especially teachers who are focused on small groups of students rather than whole-class instruction. It’s a model that looks a lot like the way higher education and workplace training are currently structured. Blended learning will give Newark Prep students the edge to succeed.”
Newark Prep Charter School’s mission is to prepare students to be college and career ready young adults. Students will take courses in core subjects and have access to multiple high school electives, including honors and Advanced Placement courses. Students will also participate in engaging learning opportunities, both online and offline, and receive intensive one-on-one support from teachers, advisors, and counselors. Students who reside in Newark are eligible to enroll in the school.
Spirit Prep
Harold Wright, President of the Spirit Prep Charter School Board of Trustees asserts, “So many kids want to learn a musical instrument, but seats in the excellent music magnet schools are too few to serve all those who want the opportunity. The Spirit Prep mission is an important step in helping fulfill that need. We are a public high school option dedicated to providing any student with a first class, blended learning experience in a school environment that is permeated with music. Spirit Prep is a school where every student has the chance to pursue their love of music.”
Spirit Prep Charter School is designed for students, who are passionate about music and the performing arts. The school will offer a rigorous education program combined with a focus on music. Spirit Prep students will study a musical instrument and are expected to perform as part of the school’s regular and extracurricular offerings. Students, who reside in Newark, East Orange, and Irvington, are eligible to enroll in Spirit Prep.
Education reform
Charter schools play an integral role in Governor Chris Christie’s education reform initiatives. The state will receive nearly $14.5 million through the federal Charter Schools Program to strengthen the quality of charter school options in New Jersey.
Governor Chris Christie indicates, “We have and will continue to support the expansion of high-quality charter schools as one way to ensure that all students have great educational options available to them. Every student in New Jersey deserves a choice of where they attend school, not only to ensure that no child is assigned to a failing school, but also so that families can select a school that gives their child the best opportunity for success.”
Innovation
The nature of successful innovation requires experimentation tied to high standards and accountability. It requires discovery and creation. Both Albert Einstein and John Dewey spoke to the nature of innovation. Dewey stated, “Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination. Albert Einstein echoed that sentiment, stating, “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle requires a creative imagination and marks the real advances in science.” Successful education reform in the 21st century will require hard work, preservation of proven strategies, the vigilance of accountability, and the courageous audacity of innovation.
NJSpotlight
John Mooney
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Two proposed Newark charter schools once in doubt of ever opening have gotten a second life with the nation’s largest provider of online education, K12 Inc.
A week after announcing enrollment was underway at one online-only charter school out of Newark, K12 Inc. this week announced it had added two more charter schools to its growing New Jersey portfolio.
These two — Spirit Prep and Newark Prep charter schools — will be a so-called “blended learning“ model in which students will take classes both face-to-face and online out of a central location.
And adding to the novelty, that location will be in downtown Newark in one of its landmark buildings, the former First State National Bank building at 570 Broad St.
They will both be high schools, Spirit Prep with a math and arts focus and Newark Prep a more comprehensive high school. Each will start with 150 freshmen and grow to 600 in all four grades. Newark Prep’s enrollment will be just Newark students, and Spirit Prep will draw from Newark as well as Irvington and East Orange.
Not all the details are final, and the boards were meeting last night to discuss lease arrangements in the 15-story office building. The state also needs to issue the final charters once it determines the schools are ready to open, a final review that takes place in the summer.
“The biggest issue is getting that lease done on the building,” said Peter Stewart, K12’s senior vice president for school development.
Still, even getting that close was not always guaranteed, following the proposals’ approval two years ago by the state.
They were slated to open last fall, until the lead management organization behind the schools, City Prep Academies, abandoned the programs amid financial troubles. Tom Vander Ark, the former education head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a national leader in online schooling, led City Prep.
That’s where K12 stepped in, chosen by the local boards through a “request for proposal” process to provide the curriculum and management of the schools. These are the third and fourth New Jersey charter schools where K12 will play a lead role, adding to its network in more than 30 states overall, serving more than 100,000 students.
The other two are New Jersey Virtual Academy Charter School in Newark and New Jersey Virtual Charter School in Monmouth, both entirely online instruction that will be offered to students across the state. The Newark charter’s enrollment started last month, and drew more than 300 signups in the first week.
The leader of the latest Newark schools’ bids yesterday sought to play down the school’s previous problems with City Prep and focus on its new start.
“I’d rather concentrate on the phoenix rising,” said Patrick Byrne, a longtime Catholic school educator in New Jersey who helped develop the schools’ applications.
Byrne said the new school and its mix of online and live classes would be unlike anything in Newark, at least anything that has lasted. It’s an approach that has plenty of critics too, those who say for-profit online organizations like K12 are more intent on the financial profits than the academic ones.
Byrne maintained it’s a model that can reach students who didn’t succeed in traditional schools, especially those in urban communities where the schools most come under question. He said it would be big on internships and other supports to build on the education.
“They have certainly sold me,” Byrne said. “I did mostly traditional education for 32 years, but when I saw what could be done, I’ll never go back.”
NEWARK, N.J., April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Combining adaptive online learning and face-to-face instruction, two new public charter high schools will serve students in Newark next school year through an innovative blended learning school program.
Newark Prep and Spirit Prep, two public charter schools approved by the New Jersey Department of Education, will offer ninth grade in their first year. Both schools will add the remaining high school grades in the following years.
Each school will have rigorous academic, college-prep programs, high student expectations, and a unique focus.
Newark Prep Charter School’s mission is to prepare students to be college and career ready young adults. Students will take courses in core subjects and have access to multiple high school electives, including honors and Advanced Placement courses. Students will also participate in engaging learning opportunities, both online and offline, and receive intensive one-on-one support from teachers, advisors, and counselors. Students who reside in Newark are eligible to enroll in the school.
Spirit Prep Charter School is designed for students who are passionate about music and the performing arts. The school will offer a rigorous education program combined with a focus on music. Spirit Prep students will study a musical instrument and are expected to perform as part of the school’s regular and extracurricular offerings. Students who reside in Newark, East Orange, and Irvington are eligible to enroll in Spirit Prep.
The schools will share a facility located in Newark at 570 Broad Street.
Blended learning turns the typical school environment on its head. Rather than a “one size fits all” program of distinct periods and bells, these blended schools will offer students flexible block scheduling and engaging project-based learning activities, both online and in a classroom setting, that maximize students’ unique skills and styles of learning. Academic individualization is a hallmark of both schools. Students will attend school onsite every day, however, each school will structure the schedule so that students are able to progress at their own pace and receive the enrichment or remediation they need.
Each public charter school is governed by an independent, nonprofit school board led by local educators and community leaders.
“Newark Prep’s blended learning model will offer families the best education has to offer today: face-to-face instruction and online learning,” said Adrianna Meherji, President of the Newark Prep Board of Trustees. “Our students will have the flexibility of a truly personalized education, thus providing them access to the best educational resources, especially teachers who are focused on small groups of students rather than whole-class instruction. It’s a model that looks a lot like the way higher education and workplace training are currently structured. Blended learning will give Newark Prep students the edge to succeed.”
Harold Wright, President of the Spirit Prep Charter School Board of Trustees said, “So many kids want to learn a musical instrument, but seats in the excellent music magnet schools are too few to serve all those who want the opportunity. The Spirit Prep mission is an important step in helping fulfill that need. We are a public high school option dedicated to providing any student with a first class blended learning experience in a school environment that is permeated with music. Spirit Prep is a school where every student has the chance to pursue their love of music.”
Both schools will use the curriculum and school services provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation’s largest provider of online learning programs in grades K-12. Over 2,000 public schools and public school districts across the country use K12′s courses, assessments, and instructional services in online and blended schools, and traditional classrooms. K12′s curriculum and education programs have received numerous honors and awards. Most recently, EdNET Insight named K12 Inc. as a leading provider of online programs to school districts, and the K12 curriculum was named a 2011 top product award winner in District Administration.
K12′s innovative blended learning programs are used in public charter schools and school districts in cities throughout the country, including Chicago, San Francisco, and Indianapolis.
“K12 is excited to provide our high quality curriculum and instructional services to Newark Prep and Spirit Prep,” said Darren Reed, Vice President of Blended Schools at K12 Inc. “Through blended learning, teachers and educators are finding new ways to better personalize instruction, and help students engage, learn, and succeed.”
