Hoboken Dual Language Charter School

Create Comparison HoLa opened its doors in 2010 for Kindergarten through second grade. HoLa grew organically, adding a grade per year, and in 2017 graduated its first 8th grade class. HoLa continued its pioneering role in education in 2015, when it became the first charter school in New Jersey to implement a weighted lottery system in favor of low-income families. In January 2018, HoLa expanded its weighted lottery to include English Language Learners (ELLs) and increase the weight for low-income applicants. Qualifying students are now given triple the weight in the admissions lottery. With these changes, HoLa once again led the state in increasing educational equity for students through its enrollment practices. Today, HoLa graduates are admitted to some of the best public, private, and magnet schools in Hudson county and the region. We are proud of the legacy HoLa is building for our community and our students. Mission: HoLa?s curriculum reflects more than three decades of research in immersion education, integrates best practices of model dual language programs from across the country, and is designed to surpass state curriculum standards while providing the opportunity for students to become proficient in two languages. HoLa offers a traditional core curriculum through instruction in both Spanish and English to a diverse student population. HoLa?s students come from across the spectrum of Hoboken families to form a student body that is culturally, ethnically, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse. HoLa has been designated a Model Program by the NJDOE, and serves as a resource to other programs of its kind from across the state. Research consistently demonstrates that students in dual language classrooms thrive academically, excelling in measures of cognitive development, flexible thinking and problem solving, and outperforming their monolingual peers on standardized achievement tests. HoLa utilizes the well-established immersion approach to dual language education and incorporates a range of opportunities for creative expression and experiential learning. All families are welcome; no previous exposure to a second language needed! Charter schools are free public schools that are mission specific and operate independently of local school districts.