New Charter School Seeks Site
The Zoning Board of Adjustment will meet on March 22 to hear the application of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Union County and the Barack Obama Green Charter School for variances allowing the charter school to occupy the club's property on West Seventh Street.
The meeting is 7 p.m. in City Hall Library.
The school needs relief from about a dozen requirements, including schools not being permitted in the R-4 moderate density residential zone and various parking rules.
Scheduled to open in September, the school will bring the number of charter schools in Union County back to four, all in Plainfield. The Pressman school closed its doors during the current school year.
To read more about each of the schools, see the following web sites:
http://www.cjacsarts.org
http://www.queencity.edu
http://www.njfirstgreen.org
http://www.ucteams.org
Central Jersey Arts Charter School is also seeking relief from zoning requirements in order to expand into a vacant South Avenue commercial building. The ZBOA began hearing the application on March 3 and will hold its next regular meeting on April 7.
More information on charter schools, including their report cards, may be seen at the state Department of Education's web site.
--Bernice Paglia
The meeting is 7 p.m. in City Hall Library.
The school needs relief from about a dozen requirements, including schools not being permitted in the R-4 moderate density residential zone and various parking rules.
Scheduled to open in September, the school will bring the number of charter schools in Union County back to four, all in Plainfield. The Pressman school closed its doors during the current school year.
To read more about each of the schools, see the following web sites:
http://www.cjacsarts.org
http://www.queencity.edu
http://www.njfirstgreen.org
http://www.ucteams.org
Central Jersey Arts Charter School is also seeking relief from zoning requirements in order to expand into a vacant South Avenue commercial building. The ZBOA began hearing the application on March 3 and will hold its next regular meeting on April 7.
More information on charter schools, including their report cards, may be seen at the state Department of Education's web site.
--Bernice Paglia
posted by Bernice at 2:24 AM
3 Comments:
From its web site I've read that the Barack Obama Green Charter School is a high-concept high school, whose mission and educational philosophy pages feature "Problem-Based Service Learning." Sounds OK, I guess, not being an educator, but not once in those pages does it mention the word "college", as though preparing the students for the next educational level doesn't matter or is beyond the expectations for the students. My understanding is that most academic labor researchers agree that a two-year community college degree is the new high school degree. So what exactly is the point of this new high school: just to test a theory about media rich learning or just to get kids out of the PHS environment?
re: new charter school in ARC building on south street near netherwood train station...this school will raise the tax burden by its creation and may also block future tax lowering development... Charter Schools cost the tax payers far more than most citizens realize... most schools in plainfield are under utilized... adding another building to maintain and school to be managed, including the unusually high plainfield school managers salaries...reduces the resources available to improve the regular schools...charter school students don't always perform better than public school students...more importantly for plainfielders concerned about lowering taxes and creating job opportunities through train station area development, this charter school may become a major impediment...schools do not pay taxes and will not have any incentive to make way for smart growth development.
I agree we do need more schools but not at that location. What about more banks (we already have PNC, what about a Bank of america Wachovia, or small community bank so we don't have to go to plainfield center, scotch plains or westfield. I was very upset when they put White castle in that lot, I was hoping for another ice cream shop, dounut shop or something else , not another burger place even a nathans would have been good. We could use a ups store or fedex kinkos on that block as well as a T-mobile, Verizon, AT&T wireless/mobile store, I hate having to go all the way on Rt 22, to get to a T-mobile store. Those options will create jobs, help with the taxes and make that end of South Avenue better looking. Even though there's a DQ, Walgreens, Blockbuster and fast food restaurants the street looks pitiful. It looks like they didn't know what to put there so they put all of those fast food restaurants, added a walgreens, drug fair and blockbuster, with the exception of the farmers market, daycare, laundry mats and small restuarants and called it plainwood square (it's plain, alright). I guess I'm happy they are putting a 7-11 on the corner of South and Terrill so I don't have to go all the way to scotch plains to 7-11 or quickcheck. I'm still not sure about C-town being in the old drug fair lot, I was hoping for a trader joe's in that lot, but any foodmarket will do I guess.
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