Two non-profits, the New Jersey Children’s Foundation and the Camden Education Fund, are tackling low performance among students with disabilities and multilingual learners in Newark and Camden who “are most often underserved and left behind.”

While NJCF unveiled its $1 million grant program this past summer, called “Accelerating Outcomes for Exceptional Learners,”  CEF announced the winners today, five schools that created “actionable plans”  to create more targeted learning opportunities for students who need differentiated programs and more support. The CEF grantees, which will receive a total $1.1 million, are Camden High School, Camden Prep High School, Camden Academy Charter High School, Mastery High School of Camden, and Eastside High School. The Center for Learner Equity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that students with disabilities have equitable access to a access to a high-quality public education, is providing technical assistance to help school grantees set and reach goals.

“We know that all educators in Newark are interested in serving all of its students better–and in particular students with disabilities or learning a new language- and we want to support that work and help them prove what’s possible for all learners,”  said NJCF Chief Executive Officer Barbara Martinez in June. “In one of our largest grant programs ever, NJCF is looking to fund schools that develop settings and supports for exceptional learners, including students with disabilities and multilingual learners.” 

“If we are going to create a brighter future and achieve true educational equity for Camden, we must make sure ALL of our students have access to great teachers, curriculum, and resources,” said Giana Campbell, CEO of Camden Education Fund. “We are providing this grant to local schools to do just that. To invest in areas that help schools and educators adopt strategies to increase equitable outcomes for students with disabilities and multilingual learners who may have historically had more trouble accessing resources.”

The event on Thursday featured a gathering of district leaders, grantee school leaders, students, and non-profit partners at Camden Academy Charter High School, with a speaking program that included leaders sharing details about the grant program, student performances from participating school, and a walk-through of two Camden Academy Charter High School classrooms that are already piloting their grant area focus to support multilingual learner students. The two classrooms featured Mr. Albright, 9th-grade Algebra teacher, and Mr. McDougald, 10th-grade U.S. History teacher, engaging students in collaborative activities to amplify student voice and better support the school’s growing English language learner population.

“We are grateful and excited to be a part of a cohort of schools working together to make sure ALL means ALL when we say we support all learners,” shared Dr. Joseph Conway, CEO of Camden Charter School Network. “We are using this grant to provide our educators with additional support and coaching to ensure our growing number of English Language Learner students are not only accessing curriculum and resources but are thriving and excited to share their stories in our classrooms in a way that prepares them for success in life.”