New charter school set to open in S.B. in the fall

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — After two years of planning and preparing, a new charter school will offer South Brunswick students in grades K-2 the opportunity to begin a course of study in dual-language emersion in English and Mandarin Chinese.

The Princeton International Academy Charter School (PIACS) will also service the West Windsor/Plainsboro and Princeton school districts. The charter was founded in 2009 by 12 individuals who came from a variety of backgrounds, but shared one vision.

“We started to see that over the last five years, dual-language immersion programs have become more and more and more prevalent in the public school systems in top school districts around the country,” Parker Block, one of the founders, said. “If you go back further than [five years], these programs were typically in the domain of the private sector.”

Of the dual-language schools currently in the United States, the majority, Block said, teach either Spanish or Mandarin, because these languages serve the most purpose on a global scale. In the business world, Mandarin is becoming increasingly important as China rises in export importance.

The application, which was submitted to then-Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy, was approved in January 2010.

“What our school offered, not just in terms of dual-language immersion but also the inquiry-based framework based on the International Baccalaureate program, met some of the things [Davy] was pushing for in public education, that are currently underdeveloped in the public education system,” Block said.

The ability to communicate effectively in multiple languages, as well as the emphasis on language proficiency that extends beyond the restaurant table, Block said, are important skill sets that students across the country should and, due to the rise in dual language immersion schools, are starting to have.

“[Dual-language schools] are the fastestgrowing type of charter school in the country,” Block added.

An inquiry-based education system, too, better prepares students for the wider world, Block said. Utilizing interdisciplinary themes, teachers tie numerous subjects together, enabling students to learn better, Block said.

“Everything that they’re learning is tied to the same theme so that the student can put what they’re learning into context. Putting it into a context, they’re able to synthesize information better,” he said.

The PIACS, which was first set to open in September 2010, received more than 300 applications for the 170 spots available. Unfortunately, Block said, the school did not receive a certificate of occupancy from Plainsboro in time and therefore was not allowed to open in 2010. The staff fully expects, though, to open for the start of the 2011-12 school year.

At present, Block said, they have filled around 140 of the 170 spots for the upcoming school year. Kindergarten and first grade already have waiting lists, and second grade only has a few spots left. There is also an extensive waiting list for out-of-district students, since only 10 percent, or 17 students, are allowed to reside out of district.

“There’s been no challenge for us whatsoever to hit the enrollment target,” Block said of the remaining spots.

Working in multiple school districts will also assist in reaching the enrollment target and help the school succeed in the long run, Block said.

“Innovative programs like this can exist when they serve more than one school district. Because our school districts are small by national standards, it is very difficult for any one school district on its own to offer any kind of innovative or specialized program,” he said.

Block also spoke of the differences between charter schools and the public school system.

“The purpose of charter schools is to enter innovative programs into the public sector. The purpose of our school is not to replace any school but to implement a program that is not currently available in any of these districts,” he said.

There would be three main differences between the public school system in place and the PIACS. Students, Block said, will learn both Singaporean and Chinese styles of math, they will learn two languages, and they will also develop mentally through the aforementioned inquiry-based system.

“The purpose is to offer these and then provide … the basis for the larger school district to evaluate whether they can offer a similar program,” Block said.

Block added that the school would also add an element of competition into the public school system. With higher standards, he said, the public schools would then hopefully also raise their own standards.

For more information on the PIACS, visit www.piacs.org.

Contact Sam Slaughter at sslaughter@gmnews.com.