The Newark Charter School Fund (NCSF) has provided a generous grant to Link Community Charter School for the 2015-2016 school year. The grant provides funding for resources in special education, and the school is utilizing the funds to provide staffing associated with special needs students. This is the second year running that the NCSF has awarded Link with a grant to supplement public/governmental funding for special education.
After converting to charter school status, Link began to enroll students through the lottery process, as required by the state. The need for additional staff became immediately apparent, as the number of students arriving at Link with Individualized Educations Plans rose. Link’s mission is to serve learners of all academic abilities, so a grant to ensure staff to support students with special needs is very important to the school. While there are some in the public sphere that criticize charter schools for not “taking their share” of special education students, that cannot be said of link. Link has welcomed them and made every effort to ensure that they receive an outstanding middle school education. The grant from NCSF helps Link meet its goal.
