Lottery for top school admission tomorrow may offer 18-1 odds

Jersey Journal
Monday, January 12, 2009

Tomorrow promises to be a day of cheers and tears for hundreds of parents eager to send their children to one of Jersey City's top ranked charter schools.

The Learning Community Charter School received more than 400 applications for the 2009-2010 school year and is holding its lottery tomorrow, said Shelley Skinner, director of development and community relations.

But the only positions that are open for sure are 22 slots at the kindergarten level, she said.

Applications have gone up 77 percent over the last three years, said Skinner, which she attributes to a quality education program and strong test scores.

While the statewide average test score for third-grade language arts literacy in 2007 was 83 percent, and the average math test score was 87 percent, for example, the average passing score for the Learning Community school in both tests was 100 percent.

Skinner said few slots normally open up for grades above kindergarten. But because the school is moving to the former Caritas Academy on Kennedy Boulevard near Lincoln Park, it plans to open classes in pre-K through Grade 4.

Tomorrow's lottery will be held at the LCCS at One Canal St. at 6 p.m.

CHARLES HACK