Learning Community Charter School

A few weeks ago we received an email from Alka Kshatriya, principal of the R.D. Rajpal School in New Delhi, India.  Ms. Kshatriya requested to visit LCCS to see our innovative teaching practices and unique school community in action.  The Rajpal School is similar to LCCS in terms of also being a PreK-8^th grade dedicated to providing their students with an education that is rigorous but dedicated to developing students leaders focused on improving their school and their community. 

Ms. Kshatriya will visit LCCS for the day tomorrow, October 9^th and will observe classes, have a dialogue with a 7^th grade social studies class about education in India as compared to the United States and to meet parents and LCCS faculty members as well.  I hope that through this visit we will begin to develop a partnership with the Rajpal School that could eventually evolve into some level of joint learning between our students and collaboration between our faculties.  Perhaps an overseas visits between faculty and students from both schools will be possible! 

Tomorrow will be an important first step in developing an important global partnership for LCCS.  In preparation for the visit the Rajpal School sent greetings to us from India and we also sent them our own video messages.  I have included all of them below for your viewing pleasure.

Videos From India
Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

The Story of Our Jags Logo  

by Ms.Schifter, Art Teacher (2nd grade - Middle School)

The contest was on!

At the end of June, Mr. Hogan put out the call - we needed a logo and image for our school mascot the "jaguar". In art class students (grades 2 - 5) brainstormed and discussed what components were necessary (of course, the elements and principles of art) in order to create a successful design. They researched different images of jaguars ranging from realistic photos to cartoons. They also knew the design had to be original and was going to represent their school. Let me tell you, they took it seriously. Some students worked during recess, others at home or when they had a bit of free time in art or in their classroom.

We definitely have many burgeoning graphic artists and the choices were wonderful, yet only one could be chosen. Alas, the judges could not decide on one winner and chose three! Miles Yuen, Mansi Sajan and Freddy Chen (all currently in 6th grade) were standouts. The challenge at that point was how to incorporate all three designs and create one strong image. The three students worked together (with my guidance) and after many sketches and discussions centering around - "Are the teeth too pointy?", "How many spots should there be and what shapes?", "Does it look to friendly or too mean?", " What size should the lettering be and where should it be placed?"... they arrived at a final design.

Our LCCS logo is done (with an adjustment to the lettering due to clarity) and the "JAGS" have officially arrived!

Go to our athletics page to order LCCS gear with the Jags logo on it.  http://www.lccsnj.org/athletics

Final Design - collaboration by Miles Yuen, Mansi Sajan and Freddy Chen

Original Designs (left to right - Miles, Freddy and Mansi)

Last April I met Jersey City real estate developer and business owner, Paul Silverman.  Due to his ongoing generosity and support of LCCS Paul was our honoree for the 2014 LCCS Gala.  The day after I met Paul Silverman and Director of Community Relations, Susan Firth, Mr. Silverman was going to serve as Jersey City Public Schools Superintendent of the Day as part of the Jersey City Public Schools Principal for a Day program.  Seizing the opportunity, I asked if LCCS could be part of this important bridge building program between the city’s political, business, and education communities.   This year it happened in a big way.

At our invitation six other charter schools in Jersey City and Hoboken; Elysian, Golden Door, Soaring Heights, Ethical Community, Hoboken, and Hola Charter Schools are joining LCCS and Mr. Silverman in participating in the Principal for a Day program and other academic and professional development opportunities.  LCCS was honored to host the first event of our new organization, The Hoboken Jersey City Charter School Alliance . 

This past Friday we welcomed two Principals for a Day from Pershing LLC; Tara DiLullo, Vice-President of Corporate Events, and Victor Nieves, Vice-President of Client Services.  They spent a busy day at LCCS handing out our Circle Awards at our CIRCLE assembly, speaking to our 8^th graders about finance, participating in PreK morning meeting, gardening with the 2^nd grade, and ending the day in gym with Kindergarten.  They were very impressed with the warmth, engaging instruction, and diversity of our student body. 

During their presentation to the 8^th graders they said that hiring the best academic students wasn’t necessarily the most important criteria in the process.  Equally, if not more important was finding people who embody the LCCS CIRCLE values of community, independence, respect, courage, leadership, and effort.  People that adhere to these values are able to successfully work on project based teams and continually innovate.  They went on to tell our 8^th graders that since they are part of a school deeply committed to teaching and living these values, they already have an advantage over many other students.

We are so grateful to Paul and Susan for enabling us to introduce us to new friends within the Jersey City business community and we look forward to making Principal for a Day an annual program at LCCS.

At LCCS we are devoted to developing our students’ awareness of self, as well as their awareness of their immediate school community, inclusive of our global community.  We strive tirelessly to encourage tolerance, thoughtful debate and community involvement, so that the students will challenge themselves and their peers to take ownership of them.  As our community evolves, it is crucial that we give one another the space to grow, to be ourselves and to exercise our diversity.  With this in mind, we worked hard to decipher what type of group for our middle school students would allow us, as a school community, to place great emphasis on the following ideologies:

1. It is all right to be “different”.
2. Diversity adds richness to a community.
3. Students should be supported in the development of personal responsibility, empathy, self-confidence, self-esteem and respect.  

Instead of dictating groups and activities for our students to accomplish this goal, we thought it would be best to listen to their needs by offering a number of suggestions to our student body and establishing the one which garnered the most interest.  Based on the response of our students, the group that generated the largest amount of interest was a Gay-Straight Alliance.  Our G.S.A. support group is dually purposed.  It serves as a safe place for middle school students to meet, support each other, and talk about issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, in order to work towards ending discrimination. Its other purpose is to build a safer school community for all LCCS students. This safe space allows us to build a social network where everyone’s identity is respected. Our G.S.A. will be running school-wide events that take action to create change.  Being that the most common form of bullying references sexual orientation (regardless of the target’s actual sexual orientation) we are excited to announce the first G.S.A. event is PINK SHIRT DAY on Friday, November 14^th, which is aimed at taking a united stand against all forms of bullying.

James Laster 

Assistant Head of School

Anti-Bullying Coordinator                                         

Shanelle Muse           

Looking for a community service project, Quinn Williamson, 16, initially thought he’d go to local middle schools to talk up the high school he attends, St. Peter’s Prep.

Then he decided to think bigger.

“I thought it would really make a difference to go to middle schools to speak to kids and help them prepare for high school in general, for all high schools, not just Prep,” said Williamson, who is now a high school senior and graduated from LCCS in 2011.

“I don’t think that kids always realize that education is such an important factor going into the rest of your life.”

To bring his project to life, Williamson created the Jersey City Youth Alliance, a collection of about 20 high school students who hail from all over the city, and are attending many of the region’s top high schools.

The teens won the backing of the Jersey City School Board and are now going to local middle schools to talk about everything from hitting the books to staying smart in social media. The group has already worked with youth from the Boys & Girls Club of Hudson County, and their first in-school presentation was given at LCCS on October 30.

When adults talk about the importance of education, teens often tune out. But Williamson said the information coming from a peer can often make more of an impact.

“At the Boys & Girls club, they know that we don’t have to be there, we’re there because we care about what they are doing,” he said. “We’re not that far removed from where they are now.”

The Jersey City Youth Alliance membership includes a large number of LCCS graduates, something that Williamson said is not an accident.

“LCCS was such a wonderful community,” he said. “They really push the focus on academics and that helped to instill this drive in me. But LCCS didn’t just make us good students, it helped to make us good people.”

When it comes to his future plans, just as he did when planning the Jersey City Youth Alliance, Williamson is also thinking big. He’s put in for an early decision application for Columbia University where he hopes to study human rights.

“Everything I have been preparing and working for is about how I want to change society,” he said. “It’s a hard goal to accomplish but I really want to make a difference.”