Charter School Founder: 'We're Here to Partner with the Community'

Wandria McCall-Hampton’s children missed out on the chance to attend the Kingdom Charter School of Leadership—they’re in high school—but they were her inspiration for founding it.  

“When my son was younger, he had some issues in school,” the Gloucester Township resident said. “He was one of those active learners—very bright, but he just could not sit still.”

Hampton, at that time a paralegal, switched her hours to the night shift so she could homeschool her children during the day. The experience proved nearly as educational for Hampton as it was for her kids.

“I really started getting into the whole thing about how children learn—they each have a different learning style,” she said. “For example, my son needed a very colorful, movement-oriented learning approach. All of the stories I had him write were about dinosaurs, which he loved, and he learned his multiplication tables on the basketball court.”

This unique style of learning caused other parents to seek out Hampton for tutoring, and soon evolved into a day care program run out of her home.

“Parents used to say, ‘I wish you had kindergarten,’” she said. “And over the years, as I prepared kids for their education, I started to see that to really hone in on what a child needs, you need a smaller class size. You can’t do that in a public school.”

As she talked to more and more parents and listened to their ideas about education, Hampton became motivated to do something about the situation. Initially, her options for providing the small classroom experience she sought seemed limited.

“You can get smaller classes in private schools,” she said, “but really, who has the money to send their child to a private school?”

She then began to explore the educational model of the charter school, and saw exciting possibilities.

“I liked what I was learning about charter schools – the accountability, the community,” she said. “I thought, ‘Wow. We can do this.’”

Hampton and eight other parents began to work together toward founding the school. During the application process, the nine founders visited “many, many” charter schools throughout the state, Hampton said, and based on these visits, began to formulate their own vision.

“We chose leadership as the culture for our school, because, looking at statistics, you see that as kids matriculate from grade school into middle school, they really get drawn into peer pressure,” she said. “We want to teach them to be leaders, to be strong and not succumb to peer pressure. That’s why we’re calling it the Kingdom Charter School of Leadership.”

The school, which will be housed in the former St. Agnes School on Church Street, is one of 23 charter schools recently approved as part of Gov. Chris Christie's education reform plan. It will initially enroll 210 students in kindergarten through third grade, with ultimate plans to serve grades K-6.

According to Allison Kobus, spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Education, the estimated budget of the charter school is $1.2 million, and these funds will be provided entirely by the Gloucester Township school district. She explained that because charter schools are public schools, the funding comes from the school district. The budget figure, she said is based on projected enrollment.

“This number likely will change, based on the FY 11-12 budget, actual enrollment, and any changes in programs,” she said.

Kobus said future funding required by the township will also be based on enrollment.

"The annual district payments to the charter are based on the number of students who attend every year," she said.

Hampton said particularly in suburban areas, there are still persistent misconceptions about charter schools.

“I’ve heard people say that charter schools take funding away from public schools,” she said, “But a charter school is a public school.”

Hampton emphasized that she has the highest regard Gloucester Township public schools, and simply wants to provide the option of smaller class sizes.

“Gloucester Township has great public schools, there’s no doubt about that,” she said. “But their class sizes are larger. It’s no fault of anyone, but when a class size is that large, it’s hard to target the individual student.”

Hampton will serve as the “lead person” for the school, and will be active in its day-to-day operations. As part of the administrative structure of the school, there will also be a Board of Trustees and a principal, she said.

“I will act as a liaison to the school, and will make sure that our mission and our vision for the school is put into action,” she said.

Kobus addressed another area of confusion—the notion that charter school teachers won’t need to be certified. The New Jersey Education Association has expressed concerns over the possibility that Gov. Christie planned to eliminate this requirement.

“Charter school teachers must all have certification, just like traditional public school teachers,” she said.

There will be no admissions requirements for students, Kobus said, because the school is open to all age-appropriate children within the coverage area. However, due to the limited number of spots, the charter school must conduct a lottery for enrollment, she said.

Hampton said the school will hold the first of three information sessions for the community on Feb. 19 at the Blackwood Rotary Library at noon. Subsequent sessions are scheduled for Feb. 22 and March 5.

“We invite everyone to come out and ask questions,” she said. “We are here to partner with the parents in the community who are looking for a school choice.”

Hampton also encouraged residents to find additional information on enrollment, employment and more at the school’s newly launched website: thekingdomcharterschoolofleadership.org.