Foundation Academies in Trenton, which has grown from 80 students to 1,000, has demonstrated that an inner-city charter school can be a great success.
When the Foundation Academy opened its doors in 2007 at a rented facility on South Broad Street in Trenton, it started small and it started a tradition of excellence in education.
Ten years later, the charter school has expanded from 80 students in two grades to more than 1,000 students in kindergarten through high school. It now calls itself Foundation Academies to reflect its growth.
In yet another milestone, the school now can boast that it has a permanent home with the purchase of the building at 363 W. State Street - a feat that is rare among charter schools.
The school administrators and teachers are to be commended for their dedication to offering inner-city children a quality education. For the third year in a row, 100 percent of its graduating seniors have been accepted into four-year colleges and universities. It is no wonder that the charter school has a waiting list of nearly a thousand kids clamoring to be accepted.
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The guiding principle of the school has been "no excuses." Students quickly learn that there are consequences for all their actions.
"Our no excuses program has three key elements," explained school co-founder Ronald Brady in a 2013 interview. He pointed out a commitment to highest standards, data-driven results and tough love.
"Under the highest standards heading, every single one of our students, regardless of their background or whether they're three levels behind when they arrive, receives a college preparatory education," Brady said.
"We are data driven. Everything we do, we measure. And we have lots and lots of tough love," he said.
So why not bottle Foundation Academies' successful formula and distribute it to other schools in Trenton?
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That would be nice, but don't count on it.
For one thing, Foundation can be much more flexible than public schools. It can limit the number of students whereas public schools can't turn away anyone. It also has fewer restrictions than traditional schools that must adhere to a host of rigid regulations that emanate from off-campus administrative facilities and union offices.
You also have to factor in the fact that kids in this charter school are motivated to do well not only because of the dedicated staff but also because their parents are pushing them to succeed.
That's a potent combination that is not always found in other charter schools.
Indeed, Trenton has seen more than a half dozen charter schools go belly up due to high academic failure rates and mismanagement.
In the end, it takes more than tax money to make a school successful. It takes a commitment to excellence; something Foundation Academies has demonstrated.