Time may be right for charter schools
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
A controversial plan to open a Hebrew-immersion charter school in Bergen Countymight have its best chance at state approval this year as the Christie Aadministration looks to expand school choice throughout the state.
KEVIN R. WEXLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Buy this photoLaurie Kisner addressing her students and their parents at Hatikvah Charter School in East Brunswick. A similar Hebrew-immersion academy, rejected three times, wants to open as a charter in Bergen County.
The application for Shalom Academy - thrice rejected by the state and opposed by local school administrators - is also buoyed by the opening this year of a similar school in East Brunswick, which already has a waiting list for the next school year.
"If it's a quality application, it's got a better shot than ever now," said Derrell Bradford, executive director of E3, a statewide school-choice advocacy group.
"In the past, charters were viewed as a nuisance and