Pioneer Academy Opens, Aims for Enrollment Increase

Officials at the Pioneer Academy expect enrollment in the Turkish school to increase since it relocated to Totowa Road.

The school opened its doors at the new 6-acre property in September. It used to be located at a former Roman Catholic elementary school in Clifton, which had one-eighth the space as its new home on Totowa Road. The school is located in the former BAE Systems building.

The 165,000-square-foot building has marble lobby, glass walls, security cameras, and other amenities, NorthJersey.com reported. Students work on new iMac computers and scan their fingerprints to gain access to the lunchroom.

About 240 students were enrolled at Pioneer when it was in Clifton. Officials previously said they would like to have up to 600 students enrolled there.

About half the students are from Turkey and live on campus in dorm rooms. The others commute from Clifton and Paterson. 

A legal battle ensued last year regarding whether the school could relocate to Wayne.

The council introduced legislation that would have prohibited dormitories from being built except in specifically zoned areas. Officials argued that the proper paperwork was not submitted before the ordinance was approved. The town was sued. A Superior Court judge ruled that the company had all the proper documents in order when it submitted it application.

The Planning Board approved the school’s application last July.

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