ANOTHER NETWORK MILESTONE

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We recently learned that the first two schools in our network – Hebrew Language Academy in Brooklyn, and Hatikvah International Academy in East Brunswick, N.J., which opened in 2009 and 2010 respectively – have been approved to open our first middle schools! Each school will welcome its first class of Sixth-graders this fall, with current Fifth-graders at those schools moving up into their next phase of education. It’s hard to put into words how proud that makes me, and everyone here at the Hebrew Charter School Center – not to mention all the hardworking teachers, school administrators, and the volunteer leadership at those schools who helped make this new network milestone a reality.

The fact that the States of New York and New Jersey have granted their approval to our schools is a huge deal for us.  More important, it’s a huge deal for the children and families of our schools, who are now assured their children will benefit from the fully-realized plan to have their children receive exemplary, dual-language education for their first nine, formative years of public education. It also gives a boost of much-deserved confidence to the rest of our schools around the country (Harlem, Washington, DC, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis), the younger “siblings” in our national family.

We have so much for which to be grateful and so many to thank – everyone I just mentioned above – plus the generous supporters out there who believe in our mission and have demonstrated their commitment to this movement.

To you all, from all of us here at HCSC:  Kol Hakavod and Todah Rabah!

Jon Rosenberg President & CEO

HCSC’S FIRST MIDDLE SCHOOLS TO OPEN THIS FALL

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Hebrew Charter School Network to Open its First Middle Schools
HLA and Hatikvah Will Add Grades 6-8

NEW YORK — When the New York State Board of Regents approved the charter renewal for the Hebrew Charter School Center’s (HCSC) flagship school in Brooklyn March 17th, it also ushered in the first middle school in HCSC’s national network of dual-language public charter schools. In the same week, HCSC received news that its school in East Brunswick, NJ, Hatikvah International Academy, had also been approved to expand to middle school.

“This expansion into middle school at the Hebrew Language Academy (HLA) – our founding school – and at Hatikvah is a huge step for us as a national network,” says Jon Rosenberg, president and CEO of HCSC. “We could not be more proud of all the people at HLA and Hatikvah who have worked so hard to secure this achievement.”

Opened in 2009, HLA currently serves 475 students in grades K-5. It will add Sixth Grade starting this fall when the school moves into its new permanent home on Mill Avenue in the Mill Basin neighborhood of Brooklyn, and an additional grade each year until it reaches Eighth Grade.

In 2010 Hatikvah was opened in East Brunswick, NJ, and today has 300 students in grades K-5.  Like HLA, Hatikvah will add Sixth Grade this fall, and an additional grade each year until it reaches Eighth Grade.

HCSC

The Hebrew Charter School Center is building a national network of academically rigorous dual-language charter schools that teach children of all backgrounds to become fluent and literate in Modern Hebrew and prepare them to be productive global citizens. In addition to the schools in Brooklyn and East Brunswick, the network includes schools in Harlem, Washington, DC, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis. 

HLA EXPANSION APPROVED BY REGENTS

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Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Brooklyn
Gets Charter Renewal from Board of Regents 

State’s first Hebrew language charter school to add grades 6-8

NEW YORK — The New York State Board of Regents today formally granted a four-year charter renewal for the Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Brooklyn, approving the New York City Department of Education’s recommendation.

As part of the charter renewal, HLA was also authorized to expand to serve students in grades 6 through 8. The state’s first Hebrew language charter school opened in 2009 in South Brooklyn and currently serves 475 students in grades K-5. It will add sixth grade starting in the fall of 2015 when the school moves into its new permanent home on Mill Avenue in Mill Basin.

“We are overjoyed and grateful that the Board of Regents and the NYC DOE have given us the opportunity to build on the great progress we have made and to continue serving our wonderfully diverse community of students through middle school,” said HLA founder and board chair Sara Berman.

The Hebrew Language Academy Charter School is one of seven Hebrew language public charter schools in the Hebrew Charter School Center (HCSC) network.  HCSC is building a national network of academically rigorous dual-language charter schools that teach children of all backgrounds to become fluent and literate in Modern Hebrew and prepare them to be productive global citizens.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

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Fourteen months ago, I joined the Hebrew Charter School Center as its first CEO and president. During that time, I have been asked versions of the following questions dozens if not hundreds of times.

Question #1: “Hebrew charter schools?  How can a public charter school be a religious school?”

Answer: It can’t and it isn’t.

The Hebrew Charter School Center’s network schools are public, nonsectarian, and serve students from a wide array of religious and non-religious backgrounds.

In a way, the confusion is understandable. Hebrew is a language that is closely associated with Judaism and the Jewish people. At the same time, Modern Hebrew (which we teach in our schools) is a secular language spoken daily by millions of people. Our Modern Hebrew dual language public charter schools are not Jewish religious schools. New York City’s Greek dual language public charter school is not a Greek Orthodox religious school, French dual language public schools are not Catholic schools, and the growing number of Mandarin dual language public schools are not Buddhist religious schools.

Question #2: “Hebrew charter schools? So those are just for Jewish kids, right?”

Answer: Wrong – our schools are for everyone, and serve as models of integration and diversity.

In many of our country’s school districts, including its largest (New York City) racial and economic isolation is a fact in the majority of public district schools. And in many district schools that appear to be integrated based on their total school enrollment, they are segregated at a classroom level, with significant racial and economic disparities in student assignment to gifted classes and self-contained special education classes. By contrast, the schools in the Hebrew Charter School Center’s network, including both of our schools in New York City, explicitly make racial and economic integration a goal – and have succeeded in creating integrated school environments. By way of example, Harlem Hebrew’s demographics are: 36% black, 20% Latino, 40% white, 4% multiracial, 53% students eligible for free/reduced price lunch, 21% students with special needs, and 12% English language learners. Our network, in turn, is a member of the National Coalition for Diverse Charter Schools (www.diversecharters.org) – a growing movement that sees charter schools not only as potential hubs of excellence and innovation but as a powerful means of creating integrated schools in places where segregation persists.

Of course, the best way to set the record straight about our work is to see our it in action. To arrange a visit to one of our network schools in Harlem, Brooklyn, New Jersey, Washington DC, Los Angeles, or San Diego, please email us at info@hebrewcharters.org.

Jon Rosenberg President & CEO