Fertile Soil for Charters

With backing from foundations and a mayor who champions choice, Newark, N.J., may emerge as a model for other cities seeking to strengthen and expand their charter school sectors.

Newark, N.J.

Mayor Cory A. Booker strides into a classroom at Marion P. Thomas Charter School here during a tour the second week of school, and delivers a quick pep talk.

“I really need your help this year,” he tells the 2nd graders. “Your success is going to help our whole city be successful. OK? All right? Good!”

Mr. Booker, a rising star in the Democratic Party nationally, has high hopes for the role education in general, and charters in particular, can play in efforts to revitalize this long-struggling city. He says that, eventually, he would like to see one-fourth of Newark’s public school students...