As you may know, charter schools receive far less in state funding compared to traditional public schools. That pinch is about to get tighter.
Every charter school in Jersey City gets a base amount of per pupil funding. Last year that was $7,592. This year the proposed budget calls for it to drop to $6,912. That’s despite the fact that three years ago, a report from the state indicated that a base funding of $10,555 per pupil in base funding is necessary to deliver a through and adequate education.
When charter schools were first founded, state law provided that they should get no more than 90 percent of the funding that traditional public schools get. In reality, Jersey City charter schools get far less.
At LCCS, the actual amount of funding is not projected to drop because we receive several line items of aid due to factors such as demographics, and the year we were founded. Our total funding has been flat for the past five years at $10,530 per pupil.
But these proposed cuts could be devastating to other charter schools in Jersey City. And, if these cuts are left unchallenged, it’s a dangerous signal to lawmakers that charter school parents are not politically active. Fighting now – even if we only get a small amount of funding – could also help open the door to getting that full 90 percent that our students need and deserve.
That’s why a coalition of Jersey City Charter Schools including LCCS, The Ethical Community Charter School, Soaring Heights, Golden Door, and METS, are launching a Week of Action starting Monday May 11.
What can you do to help?
#1. Sign this petition. Share it with your friends, family, and neighbors.
#2. Call the lawmakers who can restore charter school funding, and help prevent future cuts. If you are interested in making calls, please email Jen Hughes at [email protected] and she can give you the “talking points” developed by the coalition. It will only be 4-5 calls.
#3. Go to the Jersey City Council meeting on Wednesday May 13. The coalition of Jersey City Charter Schools has also asked for a resolution from the City Council to support our bid for fair funding. Anyone who is available to speak during the public comments section should definitely try to come. Call the City Clerk's office to sign up to speak: (201) 547-5150. You MUST sign up to be able to speak (you will only have 5 minutes). Meetings start at 6:00PM but the public comment period will probably occur starting some time around 7:00PM.
#4. Attend the press conference in Trenton on Thursday May 14. The coalition of Charter Schools is holding a press conference where we will address lawmakers and explain to them that we deserve fair funding for all Jersey City students. If you are interested in attending, please contact Jen Hughes at [email protected].
Thank you very much!
Colin Hogan, Head of School
Jen Hughes, Development Director
Shelley Skinner, LCCS Board of Trustees
Marcmulholland
I am so proud to announce that two of our 8th grade students have advanced to the national level of the National History Day competition. Hundreds of students began this competition and only 149 advanced from the regional competition to the state level. From there, our LCCS winners are two of the 18 in the state's junior division who will go on to nationals. This is an incredible honor and a testament to how hard they have worked!
 Hannah Dunton (left) will compete with her individual performance as feminist icon Gloria Steinem and Katja Larssen (right) will present her documentary film about Max Manus, the Norwegian Resistance Fighter. Also honored at the state level was Cameron Lewis (middle), who was singled out by North Jersey Media Group for his use of newspapers on his presentation on Woodward and Bernstein.
We are so proud of all 11 of our students who went to the state finals. Way to go!
Marcmulholland
This week students from 5th grade as well as Middle School Students who participate in Model UN were able to meet and hear from Daniel Nyuk, who is originally from South Sudan and was one of the "Lost Boys," who escaped civil war in 1987.
To welcome him, 5th grade students created three figures wearing painted traditional Dinka tribe corsets also known as "Malual" or men and "Alual" for women. As art teacher, Jill Schifter said: "The corsets are usually beaded and worn for celebration or to show a tribe member's importance, age or wealth. Each age group gets a different color though we combine our colors.They are also known for scarification which we painted on the forehead in a traditional repeated "V" design representing tribe identity or beauty. "
Thank you to the 5th grade team, Ms. Conod - for including her Model UN students - Ms. Shifter, and Ms. Jaffrey, who also taught students the Sudanese National Anthem.
The 5th grade classes will be holding a bake sale later this year to raise money to support a Sudanese school.
Marcmulholland
Today in class you learned what a haiku, limmerick, concrete, couplet and free verse poem is. Please post one of your favorite poems and identify which type of poem it is!
Happy Reading!
United Rescue is a new community-based volunteer emergency responder program that will be run under the direction of Jersey City Medical Center. We were fortunate to get connected to United Rescue as they chose to sponsor June-A-Palooza. They will be coming to the PTO meeting at 9:15 am on Friday June 12 to give more information to LCCS families about the project and training.
 United Rescue will give volunteers 60 hours of free medical training and supply them with basic medical equipment. When a 911 call is placed, United Rescue volunteers will receive an alert on their cell phone, and if they are the closest responder to the victim they can provide basic first aid and act as intermediaries between the patient and the arriving EMS team.
Jersey City is the first major city in the US to take part in this program, which was designed on a similar one in Israel, and we are excited about the chance to connect LCCS families with this innovative project. You can read more about it on their website or on their Facebook page.
Marcmulholland
If you're downtown Jersey City, be sure to pop into City Hall to check out work by our 4th graders that is displayed. More photos appear online in The Jersey Journal.
The 15 murals - each about 3 feet by about 6 feet - circle the city hall rotunda. Students studied Jersey City's many vibrant murals, and learned how mural artists engage the community through beautification and political messages. To create their own work, students traced the outlines of their bodies, then combined paint in colors and textures, and added words that represent "community" clipped from magazines.
"We worked in groups and learned about our local community, what it means to be a good citizen, and what it means be an active member of a community," said Learning Community Charter School Art Teacher Jill Schifter. "We learned how artists get involved in their communities creating street murals and other projects engaging the people who live there."
Thanks so much to Jill and all the students for their hard work, and congratulations for being recognized by the city!
Marcmulholland
Anyone who knows 5th grade teacher, Emily Litman knows that she loves to travel. We are so pleased to announce that this month she has been awarded a very prestigious fellowship, the IREX Teachers for Global Classrooms, which is administered through the U.S. State Department.
In the fall she will take an online course on global education, and then in February 2016 she will be attending a symposium in Washington DC with about 80 other fellows chosen from schools nationwide. In the Spring of that year she'll be sent to another country - yet to be decided - to meet with educators and students there, learn about their educational system and how they incorporate a global education into their curriculum. Past fellows have been sent to Ghana, Brazil, Morocco, India and Japan.
Emily will also make presentations to students and educators about US education, culture, and daily life and then write a thesis about her experience afterward. Once she returns, Emily will share her knowledge and experiences with other LCCS teachers and students.
"Many people in other countries think of Americans in a very one-dimensional way, and one of the things I'm really looking forward to is the chance to bring a little bit of LCCS to the world, to show people in other countries the incredible diversity we have here in Jersey City," says Emily. "When I come back to LCCS, I can connect them to the world, talk about all the ways we are similar and all the ways we are different."
"With kids, I like to show them that I'm still learning even though I'm a teacher," she says. "Being able to go on trips like this and share my experiences helps my students see that it's important to learn about how other people live and learn around the world."
This trip comes in addition to the trip to Fiji that Emily and Joan Buonafide will take this summer as Fund for Teachers 2015 Fellows. During that trip, they will be studying Fiji's ecosystem, partnering with the Naleba School there, and working with LCCS students via the Internet on science and social studies summer projects.
We are so fortunate to have such incredibly dedicated teachers and we are proud to see them recognized by these organizations for their hard work and progressive teaching.
Marcmulholland
The last weeks of the school year may be hectic, but at LCCS they are also time for some of our most fantastic projects.
On June 11, the 1st Grade concluded its Frog Study with the Frog Dance, which illustrates the life cycle of one of our favorite amphibians. After watching real frogs grow from eggs and tadpoles and keeping notes in their science journals, students depict the life cycle of a frog through music and movement.
 On June 16, the 5th grade finished its study of the U.S. Civil War with a presentation about what they had learned through performances as historical figures.
On June 17, the 3rd Grade team hosted their Space Carnival to celebrate the end of their space study. In this amazing event, students took what they were learning about space and created carnival style games, and then explained these scientific concepts to visiting younger students in a fun and dynamic way.
As we close out the school year, we all look forward to a restful summer break. I want to thank all of our teachers who create innovative projects like these all year long, and I want to celebrate our students who work so hard and our families who support both LCCS and their children as they learn and grow.
Marcmulholland
Our popular STREAM program had a summer session, including a fascinating project done thanks to the creativity, ingenuity, and talents of Art Teacher Jill Schifter.
Watching news reports about refugee camps, Jill came up with an idea to prompt students to make a shoe that would work for all different types of weather conditions.
Working in two teams during the month of July, students (incoming 6th graders) contemplated the problem _ a lack of good shoes in developing nations during disasters _ and the fallout. They came up with ideas on what would work, and brainstormed designs and materials. They made clay models and then prototypes.
During the project, a little bit of research pointed Jill toward an incredible company, The Shoe that Grows which makes shoes that expand five sizes, providing needy children with necessary foot protection around the world. She reached out to the company’s owners to tell them about the LCCS STREAM project and one of the company officials was eager to connect.Working in two teams during the month of July, students contemplated the problem (a lack of good shoes in developing nations during disasters) and the fallout. They came up with ideas on what would work, and brainstormed designs and materials. They made clay models and then prototypes.Watching news reports about refugee camps, Jill came up with an idea to prompt students to make a shoe that would work for all different types of weather conditions.
This fall, the STREAM club plans to Skype with company officials from The Shoe That Grows to learn more about designing with a purpose.
“Thanks for the reply and everything you shared. It inspires us as well! Loved reading the details and seeing what the kids came up with. I hope you inspire them to use their talents and creative efforts to continue to be a driving force for good in the world!”
Andrew Kroes, The Shoe that Grows
Thanks to Jill for creating this experience this summer, and congrats to our STREAM students for their hard work!
Marcmulholland
It was on a bittersweet note this summer that we said goodbye to some dear friends on the LCCS team. We are grateful for their time and dedication to our families. Thank you to Warren Anderson, Angelina Rha, Mirtha Perez, Margaret Murhpy, Atif Usman, Christina Meluso, and Samere Garido.
We are so excited to welcome some new additions to the LCCS family.
Anto Higgins joins us as Jess Wuerthner’s maternity leave replacement. Originally from Dublin, Anto also came to the US to pursue a career in music. He has taught math at community colleges in Ireland and worked for the Irish foreign ministry. He is a passionate soccer player and fan and will certainly be right at home in our soccer-crazed school.
Andres Nunez will be our Spanish teacher for grades 2,3,7 and 8. Andres is a dedicated volunteer working closely with high school students from immigrant backgrounds across Hudson County to consider attending St. Peter’s University. Andres acts as a mentor to these students and frequently translates for their families to assist them with navigating the college application and financial aid process. Prior to teaching at LCCS, Andres taught Spanish at middle schools and high schools in Union City and East Newark.
Sal Pauciello will teach 7th and 8th grade math. Sal comes to us with more than 16 years of experience teaching math in urban settings. He is renowned for his approach to project-based learning through math and is exceptionally dedicated to students with math anxiety and those that excel at math. Sal is the recipient of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Award for Tolerance for taking a stand in his classroom against hate and intolerance.
Jackie Rocha will teach 6th and 8th grade ELA special education. Previously Jackie served as teacher assistant and leave replacement teacher in Ridgefield, working with students in special education classrooms ranging in ages from 3-21. Jackie’s training includes guided reading, balanced literacy, and working with the History Alive program.
Samantha Brooks will teach 7th grade ELA and provide in class support in social studies in the middle school. Samantha worked as a special education teacher in Jersey City. She most recently worked with an organization that provided consultation and interventions for schools with students in danger of dropping out.
Quincy Creadick will teach 2nd grade. Quincy graduated from the University of Delaware this past May. While conducting her student teaching she was so exceptional her school hired her to serve as an intervention teacher once her student teaching assignment ended. Qunicy had an incredible career as a high school basketball player and hopefully will be a future MVP in our faculty versus student basketball game.
Erica Roark will be the second grade assistant. Erica continues to work for American Foundation for Children with AIDS and has led and organized trips for volunteers to build playgrounds in Zimbabwe. She is an accomplished pianist and ballroom dancer and continues to teach both to children and adults.
Marcmulholland
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