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Newark officials broke ground on Teachers Village, a mixed-use development in downtown Newark that will create three new charter schools, a daycare center, more than 200 moderately-priced rental apartments for Newark teachers, and more than 20 on-street retail establishments which will include restaurants, medical offices and local and national stores.

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NEWARK (WABC) -- Nicole Berne's first job as a college graduate is as a member of the tutor corps at Great Oaks Charter School in Newark.

"We're always there to help out with anything; whether it's a personal problem, whether it's an academic problem, we're there to provide whatever the students need," Berne said.

Jared Taillefer is the school's executive director. He says he enlisted the help of recent college graduates because many of them need help.

NEWARK, NJ – October 24, 2011 – Thirteen Newark charter schools have signed a groundbreaking agreement to ensure they are upholding the highest principles of transparency and public accountability, serving an unmet need in Newark, striving for educational excellence, and fulfilling their missions to educate all students in the most equitable manner possible.

The Newark Charter School Compact was developed by the Newark Charter School Fund, a three-year- old organization committed to increasing the number of high-quality schools in Newark by improving charter schools, expanding successful schools, and developing promising new schools. Newark currently has 18 charter schools serving about 7,600 students.

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Five charter schools got the green light Tuesday night to move into Newark - but the approval didn't come without a debate among the city's public schools advisory board members.

Lease agreements were approved for charter schools Great Oaks, People's Prep, North Star Elementary III, North Star Elementary II and TEAM Academy at the advisory board meeting held at Science Park High School. Three board members - Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson, Alturrick Kenney and Marques-Aquil Lewis - consistently voted against the co-location plan, which calls for charter schools to share space within Newark public schools.

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Camden Middle School is a good example of the kind of challenges -- and uncertainties -- that await Cami Anderson on her first day as Newark's superintendent of schools.

The school, like the 39,000-student district, is in transition. Last year, less than half its students passed the state tests. This fall, it is moving in with Camden Street Elementary School next door, to form a single K-8 facility.

Replacing it will be three new high schools: the Bard High School Early College, New Day Charter School and People’s Prep Charter. And with them come new teachers and new families.

This article originally ran in a special four-page section produced by the Newark Charter School Fund in Local Talk News.

Great Oaks Charter School, opening this fall to serve middle- and high-school students in Newark, takes its name from the writings of Chaucer in the 1300s: “Great oaks, from little acorns grow.”

Organizers of the charter school say the old English proverb is relevant to Newark in 2011. New public schools must grow to become a part of the community they wish to serve. Great Oaks is focused in three ways: Equipping students with the skill to succeed in college, developing teachers and staff to continually grow as educators and creating roots in Newark for a strong, lasting school community.