School Choice comes to Camden

NJ Spotlight looks at a lawsuit filed by 25 Camden parents united against the opening of two highly-regarded charter schools, Mastery and Uncommon, that plan to open more schools over the next decade. The parents are aided in their efforts by Save Our Schools-NJ and Education Law Center; the latter, ironically,led the fight thirty years ago for educational equity in NJ’s poorest districts.

SOS isn’t saying who is paying for the suit, except that it’s that them and it’s not ELC.

Meanwhile, other parents are eagerly choosing the new charters for their children From the article:

Arthur Barclay, a city councilman and volunteer coach in the district, said that the Save Camden Schools does not speak for the many parents who desperately want change in the district and support reforms being pushed by [Superintendent Paymon] Rouhanifard. 

“They’re a small group that doesn’t represent the city,” he said last night of the Camden group. “I don’t speak for the whole city, but there are a lot of parents who welcome what is going on . . . I don’t see how anyone can block new schools in a city that desperately needs them.” 

Barclay said he understands that any state takeover is going to come with its dissenters.
“That is one of the great things about America: they have every right to say and do what they want,” he said. “But something has got to change in our schools.”