As you may know, on Tuesday night, the state Board of Education will be holding a public hearing on Capital Prep Harbor School, a proposed charter school in Bridgeport modeled after the highly successful Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford.

The Northeast Charter Schools Network, a regional advocacy group, published a great article on Monday which lays out some facts about the proposal:

“Capital Prep Harbor’s model is “distinguished by the purposeful exchange of love through high expectations, early college exposure and a pervasive sense of individual and collective responsibility.” The school would open next school year with grades 6 through 12 and 250 students, then add additional grades downward, until it becomes a full PreK-12 with 765 students by year five of the charter.

At a time when one out of three students does not finish high school in four years, parent demand for public charter schools in Bridgeport remains sky high. There are more than 1,100 names of children on charter school waiting lists in the city. Despite this overwhelming demand, the Bridgeport Board of Education recently passed a symbolic resolution calling for a moratorium on new charters in the city.

Northeast Charter Schools Network Connecticut State Director Jeremiah Grace said the following about the proposal:

“Bridgeport parents face an educational crisis that threatens their children’s future. Everyone wants the district’s schools to improve quickly, but most Bridgeport families don’t have the privilege of waiting for those improvements to reach their children. High-quality choices can help now, and Capital Prep Harbor is ready to go.”

“Capital Prep Harbor is a proven model that can change the life trajectory for hundreds of Bridgeport kids, and they can start months—not years—from now…”

You can read full release here: [Connecticut Plus, 3/17/2014]

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