Camden City School District - Camden Board Of Education

Camden City School District is a public school district that serves students in pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade from the city of Camden, in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide, which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. In 2013, after years of requests from local officials, New Jersey intervened in Camden City, making the School District state-run under the leadership of Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard.

As of the 2014-15 school year, the district's 22 schools had an enrollment of 11,660 students and 1,091.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentâ€"teacher ratio of 11.7:1.

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "A", the lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

In 2014-15, Camden students who took the state PARCC test for the first time scored far below other cities in New Jersey, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. About 6 percent of district students in grades three through eight are proficient in language arts, with about 4 percent testing proficient in math.

Just 5 to 8 percent of high school students tested at close to the statewide proficiency rate in language arts. For math, that number was 1 to 3 percent of high school students.

But there are also signs of progress. The State committed at least $50 million to renovate Camden High School, the graduation rate has gone up four years in a row, and the District-led pre-school program has become a highlight.

In 2015, a brand-new, $41 million, 110,000-square-foot school opened on Broadway, home to students at a District school and two renaissance schools.

The District is guided by its school improvement plan, the Camden Commitment.

Governance

In June 2004 the school district enacted a mandatory school uniform policy for all students. 10 schools had already started their own uniform policies. Uniform policies were enforced effective September 2004.

Awards, recognition and rankings

George Washington School was recognized by Governor Jim McGreevey in 2003 as one of 25 schools selected statewide for the First Annual Governor's School of Excellence award.

Schools

Schools in the district, with 2011-12 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics are:

Preschool

• Early Childhood Development Center (486 students in PreK-K)
  • Loray Dobson, Principal

Elementary schools

• Henry L. Bonsall Family School (514; PreK-8)
  • Ms. La'Tane Bradley, Principal
• Octavius V. Catto Community Family School (559; PreK-8)
  • Byron Dixon, Principal
• Cooper's Poynt School (514; PreK-8)
  • Stephen D. Bournes, Principal
• Alfred Cramer College Preparatory Lab School (530; PreK-6)
  • Danielle Phillips, Principal
• R.T. Cream Family School (536; PreK-8)
  • Hye-Won Gehring, Principal
• Henry H. Davis Family School (477: PreK-6)
  • Sharon Woodridge, Principal
• Thomas H. Dudley Family School (578 PreK-8)
  • Maricarmen Macrina, Principal
• Forest Hill Elementary School (300; K-5)
  • David Corvi, Principal
• Cooper B. Hatch Family School (421; 1-8)
  • Ms. Nicole Harrigan, Principal
• Francis X. McGraw Pre-K School (Pre-K)
  • Johari Sykes, Lead Educator
• Rafael Cordero Molina Pre-K School (Pre-K)
  • Johari Sykes, Lead Educator
• Harry C. Sharp Elementary School (405; PreK-6)
  • Evelyn Ruiz, Principal
• Charles Sumner Elementary School (392; PreK-6)
  • Ms. Gloria Martinez-Vega, Principal
• Veterans Memorial Family School (481; PreK-8)
  • Danette Sapowsky, Principal
• John Greenleaf Whittier Family School (208; PreK-5)
  • Mr. Tyrone Richards, Principal
• Dr. Ulysses S. Wiggins College Preparatory Lab Family School (432; PreK-6)
  • Lana L. P. Murray, Principal
• H. B. Wilson Family School (1,712; PreK-7)
  • Janna Johnson, Principal
• Yorkship Family School (564; PreK-5)
  • Tracey Reed-Thompson, Principal

High schools

• Brimm Medical Arts High School (213; 9-12)
  • Herbert Simons, Principal
• Camden High School (868; 9-12)
  • Mr. Scott Shanklin, Principal
• Creative Arts Morgan Village Academy (488; 6-12)
  • Dr. Davida Coe-Brockington
• MetEast High School (117; 9-12)
  • Timothy Jenkins, Principal
• Woodrow Wilson High School (959; 9-12)
  • Keith Miles, Principal

Criticism

In the 2000s, the Camden school system was labeled as corrupt by some individuals; a July 6, 2006 editorial written by Sherry Wolkoff appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The editorial, titled "Children of Camden get short end of the pencil," asserts that Camden school officials obtain unjustified bonuses while Camden schoolchildren have few resources.

In early 2006, allegations were also made that school officials had altered standardized test scores to improve Camden's national school ratings. "We know that, with respect to the test scores, those scores were not legitimately achieved," says Lucille Davy, New Jersey's acting commissioner of education. "There was manipulation of the process."

In December 2013, the district reported that only three high school students had met the "college ready" standard, based on a minimum combined score of 1550 on the SAT.

In the wake of 163 violent incidents in the district during the 2012-13 school year, the district undertook a $1.4 million project in 2014 to add digital cameras and electronic controls at doors to limit access to high school buildings.

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:

• Paymon Rouhanifard, Superintendent
• Regina Robinson, Acting School Business Administrator / Board Secretary

References

External links

• Camden City Public Schools
• Camden City Public Schools's 2014â€"15 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• School Data for the Camden City Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics