If given the option, would you live, work, sleep, and socialize all in the same place? According to Ron Beit, the answer is yes. That’s the choice he’ll be presenting to a cadre of teachers who will staff Teachers Village in Newark’s historic but blighted Four Corners District. Approved by the city a few months ago, and set to break ground this summer, the $120 million complex is to include three charter schools serving 1,000 students and 221 residential units for their teachers, and presumably others. Nearby, a complementary retail corridor would be installed, and down the road, a hotel, condos, and a parking garage. The purpose is multifold: Rejuvenate a dying neighborhood, boost a flagging economy, attract young professionals looking for an urban lifestyle, and present (presumably) more good charter options to Newark’s low-achieving population. We hope the accompanying charter operators are as top-notch as this plan is ambitious.
“Charter School Teacher Villages being constructed in New Jersey,” by Danny Weil, The Daily Censored, July 31, 2010