At today’s State Board of Education meeting,  the new Camden superintendent, Alfonso Q. Llano Jr., and his leadership team gave an impressive presentation on their plans to move the district “from foundation to execution” by “rebuilding a strong instructional core in English Language Arts and math” and using “honest evidence,” “course correction,“ and outreach to recreate trust throughout the community. 

While there was no discussion of the poor outcomes for students (see here), there was also no attempt to sugarcoat the challenges. One is consistent drops in enrollment: In 2014, according to Llano, before the advent of renaissance schools (schools with charter-like autonomy and enrollment controlled by the district), Camden City Public Schools (CPS) had 11,258 students. In 2027, 13 years after renaissance schools replaced failing district schools and public school choice was embedded in the system, Llano projects enrollment will be down to 5,515, a 51% decline.  (Another 5,000 or so students attend regular charter schools.)

In other words, more than half of district parents are choosing to send their kids to Mastery, KIPP, or Uncommon (called Camden Prep here), charter networks selected by the Advisory Camden School Board during the short period allowed by the Urban Hope Act. 

That’s not a surprise: Outcomes for students in renaissance schools are better than they are for students in district schools. And this fact led to the most interesting part of the discussion among Board members because, as the presenters emphasized, CPS is drilling down on Career and Technical Education (CTE), boasting of having 14 options, the highest in the state.

But new board member James Williams, a “proud graduate” of Camden High School, pushed back: “You can’t let CTE circumvent higher education,” he argued. He wants a future graduate to become Camden’s superintendent and “we don’t want all our custodians coming out of Camden district schools.”

“We have to be very careful” when we say we have the “most CTE’s,” he cautioned. “There’s a difference between being a construction worker and a lab tech, devastating for those trying to make a living wage. Be mindful.”

There is much discussion in ed circles about how/whether policy makers over the last 20 years or so over-emphasized the importance of college attendance, let alone completion. Everyone goes to college! No one prophesied the crushing debt students (and parents) accrue as tuition becomes monopoly money or the lowering of K-12 standards in the name of equity (NJ’s middle name!) or the consequential devaluing of college degrees or the threats/opportunities raised by AI. 

We all don’t have to go to college. But Williams is right: Until we manage to integrate CTE and college readiness, we’re creating a system of occupational segregation.

This is clear in Camden, where in district schools CTE reigns high and student outcomes are in the cellar, compared to renaissance schools where no one takes CTE courses and everyone prepares for college.

Two data points:

• At Camden High School, 30% of students enroll in CTE courses, compared to a statewide 7%. Of those 30% only 1% earned an industry credential, which means the student has the skills and knowledge needed for a specific job. 24% of students took AP courses but no one passed the AP test. (All data from the DOE database.)
• At Camden Prep, a renaissance network, no student is enrolled in CTE. 96% take AP courses and 28% pass the test. (That’s really high but that’s Uncommon for you.) At KIPP and Mastery, no student takes CTE and there are plenty of AP courses.

So where is this going? If you want to be a nursing assistant (or custodian), you go to Camden district schools and if you want to go to college you go to a renaissance school?

I don’t think that is where we want to end up (although Llano pointed to increased collaboration between renaissance and district schools in Camden).

Arcelio Aponte, a long-time board member, doesn’t think so either. “I agree with James,” he said. “Our responsibility is that all our students are college and career ready. Every student should be ready for college.” 

Indeed, that’s the dream, right? We all want our kids to face open doors. Camden has much to be proud of but it’s not there yet. Then again, neither is New Jersey.