Governor Corzine, Mayor Booker, Commissioner Davy, and Councilman Rice Cut the Ribbon on SPARK Academy
By tdesimon on October 2nd, 2009
Last week, Governor Jon Corzine, Mayor Cory Booker, NJ Education Commissioner Lucille Davy, and West Ward Councilman Ronald C. Rice participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony marking the opening of our first elementary school, SPARK Academy. Over 250 parents, supporters, and guests filled the gym at the former St. Rose of Lima building where SPARK’s 100 five year-olds now attend kindergarten.
Click here for the cutest video you’ve ever seen. It’s impressive, especially considering that our five year-olds have only been with us for a few weeks.
Click here for the video that was quickly posted on Governor Corzine’s website.
Some quotes from the ceremony:
Governor Corzine (video here):
“Believe me, if I could have a hundred TEAM Academies from K through 12, you would find Jon Corzine standing next to them, making sure that happens because every child ought to be focused on 2022 or 2023 [the year they will go to college].”
Mayor Booker (video here):
“I want every single parent in our city to have quality options. It’s not a crazy dream, it’s something that we can do.”
“We are going to get there … to the point where this school is not the exception but the rule.”
Click here for more videos.
As mentioned in the introduction of Gov. Corzine that day, TEAM Schools and many other charter schools serving low-income students in New Jersey benefited tremendously from the Governor’s School Funding Reform Act. In addition to the extra funding, Commissioner Davy has smoothed the way for high-quality charter schools to grow, granting us expansion from just over 300 students when she came into office, to approval to serve over 2400 students over the next five years. We’re deeply grateful for their commitment to Newark’s children.
Many thanks to the supporters who made this day possible, and the amazing founding staff and students of SPARK Academy.