E.B. charter school wins final approval

EAST BRUNSWICK — The Hatikvah International Academy Charter School has received the final go-ahead from the New Jersey Department of Education to open this September.

Hatikvah will become the first charter school in the township, and the first public charter school in the state offering a Hebrew language program. The school will offer the language immersion program while focusing on an International Baccalaureate college preparatory curriculum.

The school will open its doors with grades K-2, including full-day kindergarten. It will initially be housed at 367 Cranbury Road at the rear of the Trinity Presbyterian Church property. The school’s permanent location will be built on the Y Country Day Camp grounds on Dutch Road.

According to the Hatikvah board, each classroom will be staffed with two state-certified teachers, for a maximum teacher-to-student ratio of 1 to 11.

“This already makes us very proud, and I have no doubt that it is also a testament to the academic excellence that will be achieved at Hatikvah,” said Hatikvah board President Danna Nezaria, noting that the state ranked the school first for its level of preparedness to open among 11 New Jersey charter schools that had received preliminary approval.

Hatikvah will offer a free extended hour of enrichment for all grades, including tutoring, chess, math and logic, extra fine arts, and a cultural exchange in area such as Chinese, Russian, Indian and Spanish, according to the board.

In a press release, the board said the school has “enrolled an incredibly diverse group of students from different religions and many ethnicities reflective of the East Brunswick population.”

“Although we have been enjoying great diversity and increasing popularity, we will continue with our recruitment over the summer to continue accruing a wait list,” said Hatikvah board member Alex Shraga. The board said that Hatikvah is expected to have a “substantial wait list” by the time it opens in September.

The school is hiring 13 teachers.

“We are thrilled with the quality of professionals who have come together to get Hatikvah off on the right foot,” said Colin Hogan, who has been appointed Hatikvah’s school principal. “The teaching staff is creating a one-of-a-kind curriculum with input from experts around the country. Once you factor in the Hebrew curriculum, one can truly say that we have gone to top educators worldwide to bring the latest, best practices to Hatikvah students.”

“Our hope is to engage in productive dialogues with our local school officials and all community members with questions. We welcome everyone to come to one of our information sessions, to listen, question and learn. That is what we are going to be teaching our students,” Nezaria said.

For more information on the school, visit www.Hatikvahcharterschool.com.