The compact was developed by the Newark Charter School Fund, a three-year old organization committed to increasing the number of high-quality schools in Newark by improving charter schools, expanding successful schools, and developing promising new schools.

NEWARK, NJ – June 13, 2011 – Mashea Ashton, the CEO of the Newark Charter School Fund, released the following statement about a revised proposal from Newark Public Schools Superintendent Cami Anderson to share underutilized district schools with public charter schools.

NEWARK, NJ – May 4, 2011 – The selection of Cami Anderson as the next superintendent of the Newark Public Schools is receiving the strong support of the Newark Charter School Fund (www.ncsfund.org). But, fund officials caution, Newarkers must recognize that one person can’t be relied upon to change the culture of the entire school district.

NEWARK, NJ – December 20, 2010 – Mashea Ashton, the CEO of the Newark Charter School Fund, released the following statement on Gov. Chris Christie’s nomination of Christopher Cerf as commissioner of the state Department of Education:

"Chris Cerf is an excellent choice to serve as New Jersey's next Commissioner of Education. We at the Newark Charter School Fund look forward to working with him.

NEWARK, NJ – Nov. 10, 2010 – Mashea Ashton, the CEO of the Newark Charter School Fund, released the following statement regarding the release of the Advocates for Children of New Jersey 2010 Newark Kids Count Report:

“We share ACNJ's recommendation that we need to identify what's working in both successful charter and traditional schools and replicate those strategies.  However, we also note that ACNJ reports that at the 8th grade level, nearly all Newark charter schools are outperforming the district in both math and language arts. This is critical because it demonstrates that charters are playing a key role in preparing Newark students for high school and college.

NEWARK, NJ – Sept. 30, 2010 – In response to Gov. Chris Christie's unveiling of his education reform agenda at the Elysian Charter School in Hoboken today, Mashea Ashton released the following statement.

“The Governor has taken a tremendous step to show his commitment to expanding the high quality growth of charter schools in New Jersey and ensuring that every child has access to a quality public school option. The demand for quality charter school has never been greater and we applaud Gov. Christie for his commitment to streamlining the process so that high-quality public charter schools can expand.”