Camden City Public Schools

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Camden City Public Schools
Superintendent: Dr. Bessie LeFra Young
Business Administrator: David Shafter
Address: 201 North Front Street
Camden, NJ 08102
Grade Range: K-12
School facilities: 33
Enrollment: 13,102 (as of 2007-08)[1]
Faculty (in FTEs): 1,027.5
Student–teacher ratio: 12.8
District Factor Group: A
Web site: http://www.camden.k12.nj.us/
Ind. Per Pupil District
Spending		 Rank
(*)		 K-12
Average		  %± vs.
Average
1 Comparative Cost $16,131 92 $13,632 18.3%
2 Classroom Instruction 8,786 80 8,035 9.3%
6 Support Services 3,124 97 2,166 44.2%
8 Administrative Cost 1,658 98 1,379 20.2%
10 Operations & Maintenance 2,142 96 1,674 28.0%
13 Extracurricular Activities 97 4 258 -62.4%
16 Median Teacher Salary 60,373 60 57,597
Data from NJDoE 2009 Comparative Spending Guide.[2]
*Of K-12 districts with 3,501+ students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=105

Camden City Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade from the city of Camden, New Jersey, United States. The district is one of 31 Abbott Districts statewide.[3]

In 2003, Bonsall Family School, Camden High School and East Camden High School were identified as three of the seven "persistently dangerous" high schools in New Jersey.[4]

As of the 2007-08 school year, the district's 33 schools had an enrollment of 13,102 students and 1,027.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.8.[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.[5]

Contents

[edit] Awards and recognition

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.[6]

[edit] Schools

Schools in the district (with 2007-08 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[7]) are:

Preschool
Elementary schools
Middle schools
High schools

[edit] Criticism

In the 2000s, the Camden school system was labeled as corrupt by some individuals; a July 6, 2006 editorial [8] 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."[9]

[edit] Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[10][11]

  • Dr. Bessie LeFra Young, Superintendent
  • David Shafter, Interim Business Administrator / Board Secretary

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b District information for the Camden City School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 5, 2009.
  2. ^ Comparative Spending Guide March 2009, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 28, 2009.
  3. ^ Abbott Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 31, 2008.
  4. ^ List of dangerous schools, CNN, September 25, 2003.
  5. ^ NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 27, 2009.
  6. ^ McGreevey Celebrates Schools that are "Getting it Right": Schools of Excellence Winners Demonstrate Effectiveness of Governor’s Education Priorities, New Jersey Department of Education press release dated November 211, 2003. Accessed December 15, 2009.
  7. ^ Data for the Camden City Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 16, 2009.
  8. ^ Children of Camden get short end of the pencil, The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 6, 2006
  9. ^ NPR: Widespread Fraud Alleged in Camden, N.J. Schools
  10. ^ Central Administration, Camden City Public Schools. Accessed December 16, 2009.
  11. ^ Camden County School Directory, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed November 5, 2009.

[edit] External links

Portal icon Philadelphia portal
Portal icon New Jersey portal
Portal icon Schools portal

Coordinates: 39°56′53″N 75°07′34″W / 39.948058°N 75.126221°W / 39.948058; -75.126221
K-6
Map of New Jersey highlighting Camden County.svg
K-8
K-12
9-12
None
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