Foundation Field Notes, September 2026
Foundation Field Notes
Your monthly deep-dive with Trenton’s premier charter school network
Dear Friends and “FA”mily,
If we haven’t met already, I’m Genevieve. For the last year, I’ve had the privilege of serving as Chief Advancement Officer at Foundation Academy Charter School in Trenton.
What started as a job closer to home—(I’m raising two wild toddlers in West Windsor NJ)—has become my life’s work and greatest passion.
Unfortunately too few eyes are fixed on what’s happening in our capital city.
The summer kicked off with NJ Spotlight News releasing this article, reporting the shocking lack of public funding and support directed to one of the lowest performing school districts in the state. Trenton is being chronically under-supported, even as it exhibits the greatest need.
The median household income in Trenton is $53,000 a year, with nearly 30% of the population living below the poverty level. Of New Jersey’s 648 school districts, Trenton ranks 645th. There are very few medical facilities in Trenton and the infant mortality rate is twice as high as the NJ average.
That is not happenstance. That is the result of habitual underinvestment.
People often ask me, “Will Trenton ever recover?”
FA Alumni, Elmer Sobalbarro says, "When I was young, Trenton was a ghost town. The streets were empty. Now there are children. People are living and growing here and wanting to make their mark.”
Trenton is thriving in many ways that it wasn’t ten years ago.
But the more I learn about how public education in New Jersey works, the more I understand the myriad barriers and complications we all must overcome in order to deal with systemic challenges to public life and institutional improvements. From legislators to school teachers to business owners and residents of this state, the more we know, the better armed we are to agree on solutions.
As an executive at Foundation Academy, I do not believe we have the luxury of waiting for antiquated government policies to determine the future of America's children. Every year we wait is a year our children cannot get back. We have to act now.
Foundation Academy now ranks in the 87th percentile for overall school performance in New Jersey, far surpassing local educational norms and expectations. But we’re not finished. As we approach our 20th year in operation, we’re setting our sites higher than we ever have before.
And we have a plan.
School starts today. For the first time ever, our brand new 91,000 sq ft high school campus will open its doors to welcome students after spending the last 65 years as an abandoned and crumbling factory building. This day brings incredible promise.
Take a deep dive with me this year into what’s really going on under the hood of public education, and what it looks like to do it with excellence.
Until next time, friends.
Genevieve King
Innovative Summer Learning at FA
Every summer, Foundation Academy provides critical continued classroom education to our scholars to combat summer learning loss, provide a safe environment, and engage in innovative hands-on learning and play. See what our rising 9th graders got up to during “Summer Bridge”.
Letter from a Scholar
Dear Reader –
I’m Angel. This past spring, I graduated from Foundation Academy Collegiate. I have really big goals and I want to have a major impact. Not only in Trenton, but on the entire world.
I’m passionate about community service. Being from such an underprivileged community, I truly understand the struggle and the immense emotional, physical and psychological weight poverty puts on a person. To be able to really support someone undergoing that trauma feels amazing.
At Foundation Academy, we’re a very close knit community. Students and teachers feel like family.
The friends I’ve made at FA inspire me to become a better person and to work even harder. The teachers here are very, very selfless. They will notice when you’re struggling and they will make sure you get back up. They make sure you know who you are and what you can do.
My future includes two degrees from University from Rochester in neuroscience and political science. I want to become a neurologist, and I hope that involves me working with the Trenton community and also working with policy makers in Trenton to promote language access and healthcare. People here have poured into me, and I want to carry that legacy forward.
My advice to people just starting high school here would be to push yourself as much as you can. That’s what Foundation Academy did for me. And also – be proud of where you come from. Trenton is a beautiful place.
-Angel
