This article originall appeared in The Star-Ledger.

A showdown brewing in Newark over the "co-location" of charter schools and district schools is expected to come to a head tonight as hundreds of parents, students, teachers and city officials debate the merits of a proposal to meld almost a dozen charter and district schools next year.

After a plan to introduce 11 charter schools into "underutilized" district schools was made public last month, many in the city's education community have coalesced into two camps supporting and opposing the move.

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

SPARK Academy, the sole elementary school in Newark’s TEAM Charter Schools network, is committed to working with children from an early age to prepare them not just for college, but to become global citizens.

“A world class education program means more than a focus on reading and mathematics,” said Joanna Belcher, School Leader and founder of SPARK Academy. “At SPARK, we expect our students to obtain anearly mastery of a variety of subjects, including science and social studies, which build on their core competencies in literacy and math. Our goal is to have each of our students performing at or above grade level in every subject by third grade.”