Is New Jersey’s Charter School Movement Faltering?

In 2013, the New Jersey Department of Education
approved the opening of just three new charter schools
statewide out of an applicant pool of 38. Have New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie (R) and Education Commissioner Chris Cerf, who in
the past have been outspoken supporters of school choice, lost
interest? Currently, New Jersey has just 87 charter schools out of
2,492 public schools altogether.

“I’m concerned that a state as populous as New Jersey has so few
charter schools compared to other areas of the country,” says Larry
Patton, who’s the head of school at the Princeton Charter School. “There’s a
resistance to their growth that’s pretty firm in New Jersey.”

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