Hebrew charter school’s open letter
NJ’s recently approved Hebrew charter school, Hatikvah International Academy Charter School, shares the news with its supporters:
Open Letter
Dear East Brunswick Community Member,
We are proud and honored to announce that the application for the Hatikvah International Academy Charter School, teaching Hebrew language and culture using the model of the International Baccalaureate curriculum, has been approved by the State of New Jersey Department of Education.
We realize that some people considered this a formidable task, but thanks to the incredible assistance of our community members, Hatikvah’s charter has been approved.
We respect and appreciate that there are people in our community who may have concerns about the opening of a charter school and the impact it will have on their school. However, from talking to people across the community, we realize there is a significant need for our school and that all of the schools in East Brunswick have a vital role to play in providing the children of our community with a best-in-class education. We would love to work closely with all schools as Hatikvah prepares to open its doors.
It is our greatest hope that Hatikvah will add to the legacy of academic excellence in East Brunswick, and bring the study of Hebrew language and culture to children from across the full range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds in our diverse community. Furthermore, we hope it will inspire other communities in our state to see the value in this kind of education and pursue a similar mission in their own community.
Sincerely,
Hatikvah International Academy Charter School
“Their school” in this case undoubtedly means the Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley in E. Brunswick. Some parents there are concerned it will drain students from the SSDS — indeed, other Shechter parents signed the petition in favor of the charter school.
JustASC is written by Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor-in-Chief of the 