DELTA School approved

The Founders of the North Hanover based DELTA Community Charter School are pleased over their application's approval.

According to a recent release, "For the first time, parents/guardians of emerging adolescents residing in northern Burlington County and affiliated with McGuire Air Force Base will be able to select the best educational program for their children without having to pay tuition."

DELTA Community Charter School will serve 90 children in grades 4 through 8 from the four elementary districts that send students tot he Northern Burlington County Regional School District _ North Hanover, Mansfield, Springfield and Chesterfield townships - as well as military dependents from McGuire Air Force Base. Students from outside of these districts may apply to DELTA Community Charter School as well. However, as stipulated in their charter, resident students will be given priority enrollment status over non-resident students.

The charter school will open its doors for the 2000 - 2001 school year admitting 18 students in grades 4,5, and 6, and 36 students in grade 7. In subsequent years it will expand to include eighth grade students.

DCCS will provide a developmentally- based program using a mix of single age and multi-age classes and a thematically integrated curriculum. The teacher-student ration will be further reduced to 1:9 through the use of parallel block scheduling. This will permit teachers to customize their lessons to meet the individual needs of their students.

Student applications will be accepted during DELTA Community Charter School's enrollment period begins on January 18 through February 13.

During her first radio message of the new year, Governor Christie Whitman reported that "Charter schools are an important part of my comprehensive effort to improve the educational opportunities available to our children. I believe that every child, no matter where he or she lives, deserves the best education we can provide. Charter schools are helping make New Jersey's public school system meet that goal."

"Just over two years ago, 13 new schools opened in NJ. These new schools made history. They were New Jersey's first charter schools - and they are helping make NJ a better place to live, work, and raise a family. From those 13 original schools, we have seen the charter school movement grow and flourish around the state. Today, 9,000 children attend New Jersey's 47 charter schools. Next fall, another 13 schools are expected to open, providing a new opportunity to thousands more children," the Governor said. Last August, the state Department of Education received more applications for new charter schools than ever before. On November 3, Marilyn Bellis, lead founder of the DELTA Charter School, met with representatives from the Department of Education to discuss changes to the charter school application that was submitted in August.

The requested alterations were described as fairly minor and the changes were prepared in the form of addenda which were then resubmitted to the Dept. of Education as well as to each of the school districts that comprise the charter school's region.

Not every applicant was extended the opportunity to make revisions to their charter school application, according to Bellis.

For the first year, DCCS will admit 18 fourth grade students; 18 fifth grade students; 18 sixth grade students; and 36 seventh grade students. Enrollment priority will be given to residents of northern Burlington County and residents of McGuire AFB. As applications are received, they will be separated into two piles, one for resident students, and one for non resident students. Each pile will then be sorted by grade.

The DELTA Community Dispatch stated that "If, at the close of the enrollment period, openings remain in every grade level, then all applicants (both resident and non-resident) will be admitted into DCCS for the 2000-2001 school year. If there are more applicants than there are allotted spaces, a random lottery drawing will be used to determine who gets admitted. On January 6, Gov. Whitman announced the approval of 14 charter schools including the DCCS. "When school begins next September there will be 61 charter schools in 16 counties in operation," the Governor said.

"The goal of our review process is to determine which applicants have the right ingredients for success at this point in time. The focus is on quality schools. We must also ensure that the statutory review, which is especially complex in regards to private entities, is fairly and faithfully implemented. We commend all the applicants for their efforts on behalf of our children and look forward to working with them in the future," said Commissioner of Education David Hespe.

DELTA is an institution where Developmentally Based Educational Learning Theories are put into Action. The charter school will use both single-age and multi-age classroom configurations and will draw upon the triad of students, families and the entire educational community.