Lambertville, Stockton and South Hunterdon Regional High schools are taking applications
By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
Students interested in applying to three local schools under the state’s School Choice program have until Monday, May 16, to submit their applications.
Three districts in the area recently were accepted into the program and are trying to get the word out to prospective students and their parents that space is available for the 2011-12 school year. However, the number of spaces permitted in each school is less than originally anticipated.
Students who think they would like to attend one of these schools should get their applications in as soon as possible. If the number of students seeking admission exceeds the number of spaces available at a school, the school will hold a lottery to determine who will be admitted.
The program is free to parents.
Any student attending New Jersey public schools is eligible. If their home district is not registered with the state as a School Choice participant, students still can apply to a participating school.
The residential district must provide transportation if the choice district falls within a 20-mile radius. If the school is outside the 20-mile radius, transportation is the responsibility of parents or guardians.
Students also should have notified their residential district of their desire to attend another school. That deadline was May 2.
Lambertville Public School and Stockton Public School are taking applications. Both schools serve students through grade six.
South Hunterdon Regional High School also is seeking applicants. The district serves students in grades seven through 12.
At South Hunterdon, Superintendent Nancy Gartenberg said the May 16 deadline to submit an application for acceptance is a “soft” one. There is flexibility because of the tight deadlines and the late notifications sent to schools by the state.
Notifications arrived during spring break when some schools were not in session. Also, this week, just days before applications are due, most schools are heavily involved in student testing, hampering tours for prospective students, Ms. Gartenberg noted.
”I would see us having some flexibility until the end of the month,” she said.
The number of spaces available at South Hunterdon is 18, based on state approval. Initially, the number was 40. Currently the school has about a half dozen applications in hand and hopes for more, Ms. Gartenberg said.
LPS has space for seven students, just half of the number it originally expected to accept.
Stockton can accept 12 applicants. Originally, the school had anticipated being able to accept 20 new students.
It would be possible for the schools to accept a higher number of applicants in the future with state approval, Stockton Chief School Administrator Suzanne Ivans said.
”I think we have room for more,” she said.
She noted the school has had more private tuition students in past years.
Normally, there is a one-year attendance requirement in a residential district before a student can switch to a School Choice district, but in some circumstances that may be waived, according to Ms. Gartenberg.
For instance, with the planned closing of St. Martin of Tours Elementary School in nearby Pennsylvania, some children cannot meet that one-year requirement, she said. There is also an exception for tuition students.
Stockton School offers this explanation on its website: The state Department of Education “has indicated that parents who have privately placed children in a tuition program in a public school will be eligible to enroll their children in the same school as a choice student so that continuity of instruction is not disrupted.
”Similarly, if a student’s home district does not have a pre-K program, a student who attends a Choice School as pre-K student will be eligible to enroll in that school as a kindergarten student. However, ‘eligibility’ does not guarantee a slot as there may be limited availability.”
Many questions remain for educators as the program unfolds. The districts recently accepted into the program — including South Hunterdon, Stockton and LPS — will meet with state education leaders in Trenton on May 23. All School Choice districts will meet with the state in June.
The School Choice program, created by the state Legislature as a pilot program in 2000 and made permanent in 2010, gives students the option of leaving their residential school districts to attend another school that offers the programs they desire.
”This is a great opportunity for South Hunterdon to share its excellent academic and extracurricular program with students who may be looking for a smaller school experience,” Ms. Gartenberg said. “We have been voted one of the top 75 high schools in New Jersey according to New Jersey Monthly since 2008.”
The school of 360 students offers a variety of Advanced Placement courses, honors classes, opportunity for online courses, a middle school gifted seminar, choir and band programs and drama and art departments.
South Hunterdon also has a unique agriculture science program in partnership with Rutgers University. The district offers a number of extracurricular clubs and activities, including the Science Olympiad, robotics, FFA and ski club. Athletics include soccer, football, field hockey, cheerleading, basketball, bowling, golf, softball and baseball.
Stockton School is the oldest continuously operating school in the state. It offers a French language program for children in kindergarten through grade six. Mandarin Chinese is available to children in grades four to six.
Students are taught in “mixed-ability and mixed-age learning groups,” according to the district’s School Choice application.
”Every child at Stockton is considered gifted, and each is encouraged to shine,” the school said.

