NEWARK, NJ – October 24, 2011 – Thirteen Newark charter schools have signed a groundbreaking agreement to ensure they are upholding the highest principles of transparency and public accountability, serving an unmet need in Newark, striving for educational excellence, and fulfilling their missions to educate all students in the most equitable manner possible.

The Newark Charter School 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 currently has 18 charter schools serving about 7,600 students.

This article originally ran in a special four-page section produced by the Newark Charter School Fund in Local Talk News.

Roseville Community Charter School is a new elementary school in a neighborhood bordering East Orange that will serve 132 students in kindergarten and first grade this fall.

“The school’s focus is to prepare every student for academic excellence in high school, college, and beyond,” said Marshaé Newkirk, school director, a Newark Charter School Fund founder who taught in the Bronx and Mt. Vernon, N.Y. “By focusing on character development and holding all students to the highest expectations within a nurturing and disciplined environment, we will prepare students to thrive.”

With 14 years of experience as an urban educator, Newkirk is an alumnus of both the New Leaders for New Schools and Teach For America programs. Prior to coming to the Newark Charter School Fund, she was the Lower School Director of a charter school in the Bronx.