Red Bank Charter Recognized as Top School

Meredith Pennotti has always been confident that the education being offered at Red Bank Charter School stands out among the rest. Still, once in a while it’s nice to get the recognition.

According to a School Digger, a website that ranks schools nationally, Red Bank Charter School is the 19th top school in New Jersey out of more than 1,200 elementary schools based on a composite of its 2009-10 New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge test scores.

For Pennotti, the school’s principal, it’s good news, especially considering the shared company, but not necessarily unexpected news.

“There are some stellar schools (on the list),” she said following a day full of interviews for a new math teacher. “I think what’s significant here is that Red Bank Charter School has such a diverse population. I think what is says is that all children can and are able to learn.”

It also serves as validation, not only for charter schools in general, but for Red Bank Charter's particular brand of education. By providing what Pennotti called an optimum learning experience, the charter school can predict success in its students.

What an optimum learning experience means, in the case of this charter school, is one that combines community, social, and personal responsibility along with traditional educational techniques. Students also work year-round on educational projects and are taught by a staff of dedicated professionals who not only make less than their public school counterparts, but also work well beyond regular school hours every day.

Though it’s an exception to what takes place typically in public education, Pennotti said the work currently being done at the charter school is evidence that is does work and that these new ideas aren’t going away.

“We have a really hardworking faculty,” she said. “They don’t punch the clock and they wouldn’t know what a seven-hour work day is. That model of public education is gone; it’s an old social convention.

“The (public) school model itself is a throwback. There’s such a dichotomy in the educational system; we’re trying to prepare our children for the future with a model that’s not rooted in the 21st century.”

Charter schools in New Jersey have become an increasingly hotter topic as Gov. Chris Christie has championed their new approaches. But, while some schools like Red Bank Charter succeed, others fail. There is no blueprint for success for charter schools, only collaboration, Pennotti said.

In the past decaded, the charter school has been operated almost like a business as Pennotti, the faculty, and the school’s board have tweaked the educational approach to find out what works. In a way, Red Bank Charter, along with every other charter school, is acting like the research and development department for the entire school industry.

Not only can the charter school augment its style, but it also has the support of parents who have bought in to the idea. Currently, Red Bank Charter has room for 180 students, who are selected via lottery. Pennotti said the school always operates with a waiting list.

Its time for what the charter school has accomplished to expand beyond its walls, she said.

“I think the charter movement in New Jersey has come of age,” she said. “We’re a decade old and at this time it’s reasonable to assume that we’ve learned a lot that we can share with other schools.”