I've never met her," the school's founder, Benjamin Lambert, said. "I was told she was very interested and was asked months ago if I had any problem in her visiting the school. I didn't have a problem with that."

Opened in 2001, the free public charter school enrolls 200 students in kindergarten through fourth grade, primarily from the Harlem area, the News said.

Using a back-to-basics approach with an emphasis on character development, the school has won praise from even the liberal education establishment.

In contrast to Jenna's decision to work with poor kids, former first daughter Chelsea Clinton seems to have gone for the big bucks, knocking down a reported $120,000 a year as a "consultant" for Manhattan's McKinsey & Co.

Still, in its report on Jenna's career choice, the News derided her as a "presidential party girl."

The Bush daughter tells Vogue magazine next month that it's long been her "dream" to open a charter school of her own.

As a sophmore at the University of Texas, she student-taught at a Washington, D.C., charter school. She's already found an apartment in New York City to carry on with her career.

Charter schools are public schools that operate outside the traditional public school system under a five-year contract based on accountability.

Editor's note: