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HISTORY OF CAMDEN'S EDUCATION

The idea of Common schooling was first enacted by a meeting with the Camden Town council created on March 10 to research the making of a public school system. The school committee was made up of Benjamin Allen, S.Starr, Richard Fetters, Rev. Wiliams Granville, Johsn L. Rhees, Isiah Toy, and John K. Cowperthwait. They were asked to research information on creating a public school system. The Camden Town Council wanted them to propose a plan that included cost estimates of an education system, a library, ciruculim, cost per child to the operate the schools and a budget.

Camden was divided into six school districts or boundaries to ascertain how many children there were between 5 and 15 years old, how many actually attended schools and the total number of annual expenses to educate them. The Committee visited a Monitorial school sponsored by The Philadelphia Free-School Society where they determined that 502 white children cost more than $5,000 to educate them for an entire year and for the 14 colored children in the same township it was $140. The visiting sub-committee returned with a favorable report on the monitorial school and assured the rest of the committee that adopting this method would be successful in Camden.[1] 

In 1853, Isaac W. Mickle  applied to the New Jersey Legislature to incorporate as a board of education and  to borrow money to build a school-house for 600 students.

On February 9, 1954 the Legislature approved the extinction of George Genge's annuity to the Camden Academy by paying it's trustees the amount of $1, 333.34. The Legislature next ordered the transfer of ownership of the Camden Academy to the Board of Education of the City of Camden, so long as they used the site exclusively for educational purposes.

In September 1873, the board requested the Legisture to approve $50,000 in bonds to to build a new schoolhouse in the first ward, at Third St.,below Pearl St., which extended as far as Friends ave. When completed the school stood three stories high with 14 foot ceilings holding 850 scholars.

In 1874, the Cooper school opened in honor of William Cooper. Walt Whitman recited an original poem written for the occasion entitled, " An old Man's Thought of School". The Cooper schoolhouse opened with two principals. William H. Samuel, Principal of the boy's department and Kate Rudderow, Principal of the girls department. The school had 14 rooms and an opening enrollment of 786 students. The average class size was 50, near the permitted maximum at the time.[1]

The school district was still in need of more primary-level classrooms even after The Cooper school's opening. Despite the lack of classroom space, State Superintendent of Instruction Apgar reported that Camden was in every respect a first-ranked school system in the state. Bonsall wanted two additional schools built. Therefore, William Severns, a local contractor, became the supervisor of buildings, a newly created position, with a salary of $500 per year, while construction was taking place.[1] 

On June 26, 1911 the Board of Education approved John Greenleaf Whittier as the new colored school. He was an outspoken abolitionist during his time. In 1907, he came from Massachusetts to Camden where he was able to get a high school education and become a school teacher and shoemaker. Eventually he went into politics  writing  poems and for newspapers over slavery and social ills, in which made him nationally famous before he died in 1892.[1]

On September 21, 1914,The Alfred Cramer School opened. Alfred Cramer was born in 1844 in Blackwood, New Jersey, moved to Camden as a coal dealer with his father-in-law. He started buying and developing land in East Camden, at the time was Stockton. He was so successful that he sold 5,000 lots that became Cramer Hill. He died in 1912 buried in the Evergreen Cemetery.[1]

In 1918, Camden High School opened on the corner of Park Boulevard and Baird Avenue. An increase in population lead to building a new school, replacing the Camden Manual Training and High School that was located at Haddon and Newton Avenues. Camden continued to grow throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. In June of 1933 overcrowding lead Camden to change Woodrow Wilson Junior High School into a full high school. The school was designed by architects Arthur Truscott and Paul Armon Davis III. Arthur Truscott had previously designed the Broadway School at Broadway and Clinton Streets and the Security Trust Building at 301 Market Street, as well as several homes on Cooper street.

In 1918, Camden High school was renamed Junior High School Number 1 right after it's opening. In June of 1933, Junior High School Number 1 was again renamed as Clara S. Burrough  Junior High School right after her retirement and dedication to Camden's children. 

By 1959 Clara S. Burroughs Junior High school had closed, replaced by the then-new Pyne Point Junior High School. The building was eventually razed. The the site now is occupied in part by the I-676 Interstate Highway.[2]

Charter Schools

[edit]

An important transition to education in Camden was when Chris Christie announced on March 25, 2013 at Woodrow Wilson High school that the sate of New Jersey would be taking over administration of the public schools in the city of Camden. The Department of Education had done an investigation that found in 2012 ,graduation rates fell 49.27%, down from 56.89% the year before. From 2011 to 2012, only 2% of camden students scored above a 1550 out of a possible 2400 on the scholastic Aptitude Test(SAT), compared with 43% students nationally. Only 19% and 30.4% of third-through eight-grade students tested proficient in language arts and in math, respectively, both numbers are below state average. Therefore, Chris Christie felt he had to take partnership with the state of New Jersey.

Camden is not the first city to be taken over by the state. Other cities like Jersey City in 1989, Paterson in 1991, Newark in 1995[3] and are currently being operated by state control according to Barbara Morgan, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Deparment of Education.

Christie claimed, " I can't be a guarantor of results, none of us can, but just because we can't guarantee a positive result or because there have been some mixed results in the past, should not be used as in excuse for inaction".

The J.G Whittier Family School is now part of the Kipp Cooper Norcross Academy in Camden, N.J.
The Rafael Cordero Molina Elementary School is now a Mastery School in Camden, N.J.

On February 5, 2015 superintendent Paymon Rhouhanifard announced that the 105 year old J.G Whittier Family School will permiantely be closed at the end of 2015.[4]

The Henry L. Bonsai Family School is becoming Camden Prep Bonsall Elementary under Renaissance charter system, East Camden Middle School will become Master, Francis X. Mc Graw Elementary School and Rafael Cordero Molina Elementary School is going to be Master. The J.G Whittier Family school will become part of the KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy charter school system.

Students were given the option to stay with the school under their transition or seek other alternatives.

On March 9, 2015 the first year of new Camden Charter Schools the enrollment raised concern. Mastery and Uncommon charter schools failed to meet enrollment projections for their first year of operation by 15% and 21%, according to Education Law Center[5]. Also, the KIPP and Uncommon Charter Schools had enrolled students with disabilities and English Language learners at a level far below the enrollment of these students in the Camden district. The enrollment data on the Mastery, Uncommon and KIPP charter chains comes form the state operated Camden district and raised questions whether or not the data is viable, especially since it had said that Camden parents prefer charters over neighborhood public schools. In addition, there was a concern that these charter schools are not serving students with special needs at comparable level to district enrollment, developing the idea of growing student segregation and isolation in Camden schools as these chains expand in the coming years.

The main findings from Education Law Center analysis include:

  • Mastery enrolled 368 students, 15% below projected enrollment.
  • Uncommon enrolled 71 students, 21% below projected enrollment.
  • KIPP enrolled 105 students, one above projected enrollment.
  • Mastery enrolled 37 English language learners (ELL), one above projected enrollment and comparable to the district’s ELL enrollment.
  • Uncommon enrolled no ELLs, and KIPP enrolled five ELLs, well below the district’s 8% ELL enrollment.
  • Mastery enrolled 59 special education students, 20 below projection and 3% below the district’s 19% classification rate.
  • Uncommon enrolled six and KIPP enrolled seven special education students, below projections and far below the district’s enrollment of students with disabilities.[6]

On October 2016, Governor Chris Christie, Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd, Camden Public Schools Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard, and state and local representatives announced a historical $133 million investment of a new Camden High School Project[7]. . The new school is planned to be ready for student occupancy in 2021. It would have 9th and 12th grade. The school has a history of a 100 years and has needed endless repairs. The plan is to give students a 21st century education.

Chris Christie states, " This new, state-of-the-art school will honor the proud tradition of the Castle on the Hill, enrich our society and improve the lives of students and those around them".

Charter/Renaissance schools in Camden

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  • Hope Community CS 836 S. 4th Street Camden, NJ 08103[8]
  • Freedom Prep Charter School 1000 Atlantic avenue Camden, NJ 08104[9]
  • Environment Community Opportunity Charter School 817 Carpenter street, Bridgeview complex Camden, NJ 08102)[10]
  • Camden's Promise Charter School 879 Beideman Ave Camden, NJ 08105[11]
  • Camden Community Charter School 9th & Linden Streets Camden, NJ 08102[12]
  • Leap Academy University Charter School 549 Cooper street, Camden, NJ 08102[13]
  • Kipp Cooper Norcross Academy 525 Clinton St, Camden, NJ 08103[14]
  1. ^ a b c d e Reiss, Fred (2005). public education in Camden, N.J from inception to integration. iUniverse, Inc. p. 166.
  2. ^ "CAMDEN - Camden High School - 1919 to present day". www.dvrbs.com. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
  3. ^ "N.J. governor announces takeover of Camden schools". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  4. ^ "Camden closing 1 school, transferring 4 to charters". NJ.com. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
  5. ^ "Education Law Center | NEW CAMDEN CHARTERS: 1st YEAR ENROLLMENTS RAISE RED FLAGS". www.edlawcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  6. ^ "Education Law Center | NEW CAMDEN CHARTERS: 1st YEAR ENROLLMENTS RAISE RED FLAGS". www.edlawcenter.org. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  7. ^ mgryczon. "Office of the Governor | Newsroom". www.state.nj.us. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  8. ^ "Hope Community Charter School • Camden, New Jersey". Hope Community Charter School • Camden, New Jersey. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  9. ^ "- Freedom Prep High School". fphs.democracyprep.org. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  10. ^ "ECO Charter School – Camden, New Jersey". ecocharterschool.org. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  11. ^ "Camden's Charter Network". www.promiseacademycharter.org. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  12. ^ "Camden Community Charter School". www.camdencharter.com. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  13. ^ "LEAP Academy University Charter School". www.leapacademycharter.org. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  14. ^ "Camden - KIPP New Jersey". KIPP New Jersey. Retrieved 2016-12-20.

rter school list[1]

  1. ^ "Charter Schools | Camden County, NJ". www.camdencounty.com. Retrieved 2016-10-19.
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