Brilla is the first new charter approved in the state of New Jersey in four years.
PATERSON, NJ – Mayor Andre Sayegh and representatives from Brilla Public Charter Schools cut the ribbon on its newest location in Paterson on Wednesday. Brilla Public Charter Schools is a network of high-performing, personalized, character-rich, classical charter schools with more than a decade of success in The Bronx, New York, officials said.
As the first new charter approved in the State of New Jersey in four years, Brilla is expanding to Paterson beginning in the 2023-2024 school year with Kindergarten, First and Fifth grades. The school will grow two grade levels a year until it becomes complete elementary (K-4) and middle (5-8) schools in 2026.
“This is a victory for the City of Paterson, the children of the City of Paterson and Brilla, which means ‘shine’,” Sayegh said. “Students will rise and shine at the premier Public Charter School and I can anticipate an environment that is conducive not only to academic excellence, but social development, where we don’t necessarily prioritize academic outcomes over character development, they are one and the same.”
The idea of Brilla Paterson began with Monsignor Geno Sylva who discovered Brilla in The Bronx.
“I was overwhelmed and blown away by the joy of the students,” Sylva said. “The energy of the educators, I talked to people in the neighborhood, and they shared with me how much Brilla changed the neighborhood, so being very pushy and forthright, I reached out to the folks who run the Brilla network and asked them to come to Paterson.”
In the beginning, Brilla wasn’t interested in coming to Paterson and rejected their application. However, Sylva didn’t give up and continued to contact city and state officials as well as raise funds to build a building for the school to call home. Finally, Brilla agreed to open a charter school in Paterson.
“Often times we hear terms like ‘lack of opportunity’ or ‘lack of resources’, but this is the complete opposite of that,” Orlando Cruz, President of the Greater Paterson Chamber of Commerce said. “Here we have an institution that will be providing resources to our communities that are much needed and providing opportunity not only to our students and our families, but also a chance of employment that is much needed throughout the State and especially here in the City of Paterson.”
“Today is a very special day because it’s all about choice,” Third Ward Councilman Alex Mendez said. “On behalf of the City Council, we welcome Brilla into the great City of Paterson. I thank Monsignor Sylva for his leadership and for continuing to fight for the city and our community. Brilla came to the City of Paterson to provide excellent education for our children and a great opportunity for our family and our community as well.”
Brilla Public Charter Schools, K-8 Schools in the classical tradition, help students to grow intellectually, socially, and physically into young men and women of good character and spirit, and to be prepared for excellence in high school, college and beyond, officials said.
“Not only will this school help students grow academically, but this is about the whole child,” Harry Lee, President and CEO of the NJ Charter School Association said. “They will help students socially and emotionally to excel and really become leaders of the City and at Brilla.”
“They say it takes a village to raise a child,” Ty Redmond, Senior Director of Brilla Paterson said. “Well, it takes an even larger village to raise a school. I want to thank everybody who has helped made this happen.”
Brilla is completely free, just like any other public school a child could attend, and is currently accepting applications for the next school year. Those interested can apply by visiting apply.brillaschools.org/ and selecting Paterson as their application choice. The deadline is December 1. The lottery for the 2023 academic year will be held and the results announced on December 5.
For more information, visit apply.brillaschools.org or call 201-802-8065 or email apply@brillapaterson.org. The school is located at 24 De Grasse Street.
