Back to School: Principals at Carver Elementary Ready for New Year

Tuesday marks the start of a new academic year in Newark and two principals at George Washington Carver Elementary School say they're ready to iron out any last-minute kinks that could arise from their

, which intergrated into the third floor of the South Ward school, had its first day of classes Aug. 22 and the transition went smoothly, Principal Joanna Belcher said. Students at Carver and the Bruce Street School for the Deaf, which also occupies the Clinton Place building, begin classes Tuesday.

"We're sure some kinks will develop on Tuesday because it will be first day all the children will be in the building at the same time," said Dr. Winston Jackson, principal of Carver and Bruce Street schools. "We're sure something will arise, but we're prepared."

Belcher said that both principals are working well with each other, a promise they made to parents during a

"We know we will be able to solve anything that comes up if we communicate the best we can," said Belcher.

Renovations were made to the building throughout the summer, including repainting classrooms and fixing bathrooms, said Jackson. Two wood shop rooms were converted into classrooms and 20 air conditioners are expected to be installed next week.

SPARK Academy also repainted their classrooms, installed extra security cameras and 24 air conditioners, and designated traffic patterns on staircases to ensure the Carver and Bruce Street students "can get to where they need to go," according to Belcher. 

SPARK Academy has 28 teachers and 314 students. Carver has 45 teachers and 600 students, and Bruce Street has 10 teachers and 45 students.

Both administrators said their main concern now will be the Friday afternoon buses. Jackson said all three schools will hold dismissal at the same time and they are trying to determine if there is enough space in front of the building for all the buses to line up.

"We won't know the numbers until that day," Jackson said, "and we'll adjust accordingly."

Carver students will use the Clinton Place entrance and the SPARK Academy student will use the Aldine Street entrance. Each school will have their own cafeteria and art rooms. The gym and recess courtyard will be divided up into sections for each school.

The principals got approval from city officials to lease a nearby parking lot for teacher parking, which should accommodate 50 vehicles. Belcher said school officials are still trying to see if they can get the city to eliminate alternate-side street parking on Mondays and Tuesdays for more spaces.

Two Newark Public School guards have been hired to run a new security station set up by the SPARK Academy entrance, Belcher said. The existing security station on Clinton Place remains the same.

SPARK Academy, which is entering its third year, moved to Carver elementary school because its prior location, St. Rose of Lima School, is being rented out to another charter school. Belcher said the relocation to Carver elementary school is on a short-term basis and the academy has signed a two-year lease.

The integration of SPARK Academy into Carver is part of Newark Public Schools , which was and is expected to generate $300,000 in revenue, Business Administrator Valerie Wilson said at the time.

Jackson and Belcher emphasized that they care for all students in the building, not just from their respective schools.

"We just want the public to know we work extremely hard to give our children the best education possible," Jackson said.