In Camden, signs of progress

By Paymon Rouhanifard

Alesha Figueroa got a B on her biology final.

While this news may be unremarkable to those unfamiliar with this graduate of one of our high schools, Alesha's story represents the promise, problems, and progress of the Camden City School District.

Like many of our students, Alesha grew up in a challenging situation. Her father has been in the criminal justice system since she was 2 years old. Her mother passed away from leukemia when she was 5. Not surprisingly, Alesha acted out in middle school and struggled throughout ninth grade.

But then Alesha turned the corner. She focused more on academics. She was elected class president. She represented her peers on the Advisory Board of Education, where I got to know her well. And in June, she graduated fifth in her class.

At Rutgers-Camden last fall, Alesha had a shocking realization - she was not ready for the rigors of college. After reaching a point where she could breeze through high school coursework and complete her homework during class time, Alesha did not know how to study. She did not know how to take notes. An aspiring marine biologist, she was on the verge of failing her math and science classes when she e-mailed me in October.

"College is already a huge difficulty for me," she wrote. "I'm not on everyone else's level, and I was not prepared for this. I hope that maybe my experience could help others realize that our city's education needs improvement."

On behalf of Alesha and the 11,500 students who attend district schools in Camden, we spent 2014 working hard to ensure that every child has the opportunity to receive an excellent education. Our work has centered on the Camden Commitment, the short-term strategic plan I released last January following a 100-day listening tour.

Thanks to the efforts of educators, families, and partners across the district, we are beginning to show progress in student achievement. More students are in preschool than ever before. Teachers and principals are getting regular - and more - feedback. Hundreds of students are attending three new neighborhood schools led by high-performing nonprofit organizations. Our graduation rate is up six points, and our dropout rate is the lowest it's been in three years.

Of course, we have more work to do. Three out of five students are now graduating, but only a small fraction of students are leaving high school with the skills they need to succeed in college or a career. Less than a quarter of our students can read and do math on grade level. In a recent survey, more than half of Camden parents said they wish their child attended a different school.

In other words, for every Alesha who is finding success in college, there are many more students who are not making the most of their potential because they did not receive a good enough education. We are making progress to ensure an excellent education for every child in Camden, but we are certainly not there yet.

In the new year, we will continue working to give students and families the great school options they deserve. We will continue to intensively support our educators. We will update our curricula to better align with the Common Core standards. Where facilities are crumbling and schools are persistently underperforming, we will pursue significant improvements. We will further expand parent involvement. And though we face tough choices in our coming budget process, we will continue to put children first.

We've made a commitment to Camden - safe, state-of-the-art buildings, great teaching, and strong support and service to our students and their families. Our Camden Commitment was built collaboratively with our community, and it is filled with promise - the promise of our children, and a promise to give them everything they need for a great future.

For Alesha and for all of her peers now in Camden schools, it is a promise we must keep.