Great Oaks supports community and offers the promise of brighter futures

A few years ago, Jessica Pringle moved to Newark from New York City, so her three children could attend Great Oaks Legacy Charter School.

“I chose Great Oaks because I felt the same sense of community that I felt where I was born and raised,” she said. “Great Oaks held the academic standards I was looking for and made us feel comfortable and confident that my children were in good hands.”

The school, at Madison Street near South 16th, prepares its students for success beyond high school through partnerships with outside organizations. The partnerships provide enrichment programs for Great Oaks’ 2,000 Pre-K through 12th-grade students split across seven campuses and offer families access to essential services such as fresh food, health care, voting information and after- school activities.

“It’s basically an opportunity for us to connect the community with our families as well as different nonprofit organizations to ensure that our families have access to resources that support the students and their parents,” said Lamar Washington, 31, who has worked at Great Oaks for five years.

Pringle, 35, whose kids are 7, 11 and 16, is pleased with her school choice.

“My kids are excelling,” she said with pride, “because at Great Oaks, they really pay close attention to their students and give a lot of one-on-one care to all the kids here.”

During a recent back-to-school event, Pringle cooked hotdogs on a smoky grill near the playground.

Inside the school’s basement, parents picked up free school uniforms, sweatshirts, notebooks, and folders and engaged with representatives from partner organizations distributing information. Most had partnered with the school for four years.

Among the partner organizations attending were The Boys and Girls Club and Project Ready, an advocacy group focused on protecting and expanding high-quality education in urban communities through increased voter turnout and civic engagement. There was also the Green Light Fund of Greater Newark, which tackles barriers to inclusive prosperity by implementing programs that address community-identified needs. This year, it promoted an Emergency Medical Technician training program.

Champions in Action Martial Arts in Union has a special relationship with Great Oaks and offered kids a chance to take classes at discounted rates.

“My son, Jace, attends Great Oaks,” said Robert Hylton, who co-owns Champions Action Martial Arts with his wife, Rita. “One of the administrators, ‘Miss Q,’ Jennifer Quinones, was impressed by his discipline. We talked about the martial arts training that he does after school, and she invited us to become a partner in the back-to-school drive.”

Washington noted that the school has received a grant from the South Ward Promise Neighborhood(SWPN), which supports Great Oaks families with health care, financial assistance, and multiple giveaways throughout the year.

“A few years ago, we had a collaboration with Macy’s where they used our campus to give away 1,000 winter coats for families,” Washington said, “So, all the organizations that are here really know and believe in our mission to create genuine relationships with our families, to build a community.”

During his time at Great Oaks, Duguid, 18, participated in the Student Advocacy Club, where he worked closely with Project Ready, which registered more than 90% of the Great Oaks’ senior class to vote in the last two years.

He also participated in Rutgers’ Dual Enrollment Program, which allows juniors and seniors from Newark public, charter, and parochial schools to take college courses for credit while still in high school.

“I’m a product of events like this where, you know, those organizations are able to communicate with parents and students,” said Duguid, who engaged with families during this year’s back-to-school event. “And being in those programs and then turning around and giving back — I am making sure that I can make a change in my community as well.”

Read the article on Mosaic.