DC CHARTER BOARD APPROVES NEW HEBREW CHARTER SCHOOL FOR SEPTEMBER 2013 OPENING

Washington’s Sela Public Charter School to become fourth school in Hebrew Charter School Center network

NEW YORK — The Hebrew Charter School Center today welcomed another addition to its network of Hebrew immersion charter schools with the formal approval of the Sela Public Charter School by the DC Public Charter School Board last night.

Sela will join the Hebrew Language Academy in Brooklyn, Hatikvah International Academy in East Brunswick, N.J., and the recently approved Kavod Elementary Charter School in San Diego as the fourth school to be developed based on the HCSC model when it opens in the fall of 2013. The Center is also working with a planning group in Harlem that submitted a charter application earlier this year.

“We could not be happier for the Sela planning group and the families they will be serving — or more encouraged by the response and validation our innovative dual language model has received the last several weeks by authorizers in San Diego and now Washington,” said HCSC Executive Director Aaron Listhaus. “This has been a great spring forward for our movement, and we hope to keep the momentum going as we continue working with planning groups across the country.”

Sela will join a vibrant community of nine other dual language public school programs in the District. The elementary school plans to open in 2013 with 124 students in pre-K and grades K-1 and to grow to serve 372 students through fifth grade, according to its charter.

“The Hebrew Charter School Center has been enormously supportive in Sela’s application process,” said Sela co-founder Bryce Jacobs. “HCSC has provided much needed grant funds as well as technical assistance throughout the application process. We are excited to be joining HCSC’s network of schools and look forward to sharing best practices with our sister schools
across the country.”

About HCSC

The Hebrew Charter School Center (HCSC) is a nonprofit organization created by the Areivim Philanthropic Group in 2009. The Center’s mission is to promote the development and sustainability of the Hebrew charter school movement by supporting a network of excellent schools that serve diverse populations of students, foster strong inter-personal relationships, advance overall academic and social/emotional well-being, and promote high levels of Hebrew language proficiency and understanding of the culture and history of Israel and its immigrant communities.

HCSC works with planning teams and existing charter schools across the country to:

• Build and increase the capacity for designing new, high quality Hebrew language charter schools;
• Provide resources for established schools;
• Grow a field of educators prepared to lead Hebrew language charter schools and the movement;
• Promote and support a network of high quality Hebrew language charter schools;
• Support local communities to develop Hebrew language charter schools and to maximally benefit from their impact on children and families.

For more information, go to:
http://www.hebrewcharters.org/