Q: What is TEAM?
A: TEAM Schools is a growing network of open-enrollment charter schools in Newark, New Jersey. There are currently three schools in the TEAM network, TEAM Academy, Rise Academy and Newark Collegiate Academy.

Q: What grades do you serve?
A: TEAM Academy serves 360 students in grades 5-8. Rise Academy currently serves over 180 students in grades 5-6 and will grow one grade per year to serve 360 students in grades 5-8.  Newark Collegiate Academy serves over 75 students in grade 9 and will grow to serve over 500 students in grades 9-12.  TEAM will grow over the next few years to serve more than 2,300 in grades K-12 across 5 schools.

Q: What area do you serve?
A: TEAM students come from all areas of Newark. TEAM provides school bus service to ensure that all students are able to attend regardless of their parent’s ability to drive them. TEAM Schools' primary focus is on serving students from the South, Central and West wards, Newark’s poorest and most educationally underserved areas.

Q: What is KIPP?
A: KIPP is a network of free open-enrollment college-prep public schools in under-resourced communities throughout the United States. It is a national non-profit organization that selects, trains, and supports outstanding educators to open and run high-performing schools. There are currently 52 KIPP schools in 16 states and Washington, D.C., serving more than 11,000 students. KIPP is a nationally recognized program with outstanding results (see www.kipp.org/presscenter.cfm).

Q: What is a charter school?
A: Charter schools are public schools of choice that operate with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. The "charter" establishing each school is a performance contract detailing the school's mission, program, goals, students served, methods of assessment, and ways to measure success. New Jersey charter schools report to the New Jersey Department of Education and are required to produce positive academic results and adhere to the charter contract. The basic concept of charter schools is that they exercise increased autonomy in return for this accountability. They are accountable for both academic results and fiscal practices to several groups: the sponsor that grants them, the parents who choose them and the public that funds them.

Q: How are students selected for admission?
A: TEAM students, like all charter school students in New Jersey, are selected by lottery. TEAM does not select or deny admissions on the basis of prior academic or behavioral record, race, creed, class, handicap, or any other factor. As a result, the demographics and academic preparedness of TEAM students closely reflect those of neighborhood schools. TEAM is 96% African American and 4% Hispanic. 79% of TEAM students qualify for free and reduced meals. Students attending TEAM schools enter the school two years below grade level in math and three years below grade level in reading on average.

Q: How does the admissions lottery work?
A: Parents and students apply at any time of the year. Student names are held on the waitlist until a predetermined lottery cutoff date. At that time, students are selected at random for admission. There are currently over 400 students on the waitlist for TEAM Schools.

Q: How are charter schools funded?
A: Like district public schools, charter schools are funded according to enrollment. New Jersey charter schools are funded at 90% of state and district operations funding based on average district per-pupil revenue. The estimated per-pupil funding TEAM receives totals around $11,500. Newark Public Schools receive over $20,000 per student. District schools are also provided with free facilities. TEAM Schools has to finance facility needs using its baseline per-pupil budget.

Q: Why does TEAM need to raise money?
A: Even with the funding inequality between Newark Public Schools (NPS) and TEAM, TEAM runs a highly effective school on a much tighter budget than NPS. However, in order to pay teachers who work longer hours and school years, and provide the variety of extra support, extracurricular and character development programming TEAM deems essential to a high quality education, it is necessary to raise over $2,000 per student.

Q: Do charter schools take money from public schools?
A: Charter schools are public schools. When a child leaves for a charter school the money follows that child. Proponents say this benefits the public school system by instilling a sense of accountability into the system regarding its services to the student and parents and its fiscal obligations.

Q: How do TEAM students perform compared to other students in Newark, in NJ and nationwide?
A: TEAM students outperformed Newark students on all three sections of the Grade Eight Proficiency Exam in the Spring of 2006. African American students at TEAM, who make up 96% of the student population, also outperformed African American students in Newark and statewide. TEAM students in grades 5-7 also outperformed their peers in Newark Public Schools in every subject in every grade.

TEAM students also make exceptional gains as compared to national averages on the SAT-10. See the Results section for more details.

Q: What is TEAM’s impact on the public school system?
A: Every TEAM middle school serves 1% of Newark students, but has the potential to increase the number of Newark students graduating from 4-year colleges by 30%. A network of 10 TEAM Schools would have the potential to more than double the number of Newark students graduating from 4-year colleges.

Q: Your teachers work really hard. What’s the turnover rate?
A: TEAM has one of the lowest turnover rates in the KIPP network. Since its founding, the turnover rate has been just 10%

Q: How can I learn more about TEAM Schools?
A: For more information on TEAM Schools, please contact Development Director, Ben Cope, at 973-705-8326 x1009 or bcope@teamacademy.org or see the video and annual report on this website.