Camden principal offers alternative school plan

The principal of a middle school, which could be phased out of operation, appealed to the superintendent at Monday's school board meeting, asking him to merge the school with another public school.

Brian Medley, principal of Pyne Poynt Middle School, spoke at the heated meeting in which 272 people were laid off. He suggested Molina Elementary come to Pyne Poynt, to fill out the under-used building, rather than open the school to Mastery Schools, as is the current plan.

Administration officials have said no schools in the under-performing district will close in the 2014-2015 school year but said some could be phased out.

Pyne Poynt Middle School will not take on a new sixth grade class next year, leading to speculation it could eventually be the first of the district schools to shut its doors. The school, which uses only about 50 percent of its building, will share its space with Mastery, should the state approve of the Renaissance school to open in Camden.

Mastery would open in the fall at the  facility on Seventh and Erie streets with up to 380 students in kindergarten through grade five. Pyne Poynt has about 300 students in sixth through eighth grade.

"I urge this Board of Education, this advisory Board of Education, I urge you to take whatever measures at your disposal, whatever is necessary, to defeat this proposal," Medley said Monday night. "I guarantee you, if you merge Molina and Pyne Poynt, we will compete for students and we will win students, they know us."

Pyne Poynt has a high number of special needs classes and hosts the majority of the district's Middle School bilingual program. Last year the school enrolled 33 percent of students with limited English proficiency and 35 percent in special education. In 2012-2013 NJ ASK scores only 14 percent of students were proficient in English and only 12 percent in Math.

Rouhanifard "respectfully disagreed" with Medley at the meeting, citing the low scores and saying, "Yes, there are certainly good things happening there and yes, you inherited a very tough situation…but I would contend the school environment you describe is not what we see."

Rouhanifard also said Pyne Poynt has the highest number of incidents of any school in the district.

Mastery and Uncommon find out in June if the state will approve their applications. They would construct permanent school facilities in comming years.

-Julia Terruso