Gemar Mills, a former principal of Newark’s Malcom X. Shabazz High School, is Chief Academic Officer at College Achieve Public Schools, a public charter network in Plainfield, Paterson, Asbury Park, and Neptune.

When we embarked on this journey, many doubted this could be done. Our students, the vast majority of whom are Black or Latino, face numerous challenges. The naysayers said, ‘they’re too far behind academically!”. The lingering effects of the pandemic and societal hurdles seemed insurmountable. 

Against all odds, we have proven the doubters wrong. I am filled with gratitude as I share the outstanding news about our students’ success.  In the 2022-23 school year, College Achieve Public Schools, a network of K-12 schools spanning Paterson, Plainfield, Asbury Park, and Neptune Township, surpassed all expectations. At CAPS Paterson, the campus I lead, our students exceeded the state proficiency average in English Language Arts in every single grade—and in several grades by double-digit percentages. This achievement is a testament to the unwavering dedication of our students, teachers, staff, and the entire community.  Together, we have closed the achievement gap in one of New Jersey’s most challenging cities. 

How did we do it? There were a few key strategies I’d emphasize: 

Focusing on data. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know it exists. We looked closely at the performance of our students from previous years and designed customized interventions to help them improve. We also assess students multiple times in the year to create personalized plans that address those gaps—during an extra class embedded into the school day dedicated solely to focused intervention. For instance, this past year we found that our students needed to improve considerably on writing, and so started incorporating writing practice into regular instruction. 

Supporting our teachers. We wouldn’t be where we are without our fantastic teachers. We provide ample opportunities for training and collaboration, so teachers can share best practices and improve their craft—in fact, we have more than 25 professional development days without students during the year. Our teachers are happy—we retain 85 percent of our teachers each year—and the secret ingredient is that these super effective teachers are willing to see students get to where they really want them to be. They’ve raised the bar, kept expectations high, and helped our students get there. 

Considering the whole child. While we’re deeply focused on academics, we provide an education grounded in character, community, emerging technologies, and an individualized approach. We know that we need to take care of our students’ hearts, as well as their minds. We love our scholars and provide opportunities they might not be able to get elsewhere, from STEM learning at the New Jersey Institute of Technology to overnight summer trips at some of the world’s best colleges and universities.  

The other CAPS campuses are seeing similar progress. CAPS Asbury Park had the third-largest gains in the state in English Language Arts and was in the 98th percentile in math growth. Hispanic students at the school out-performed white students statewide in ELA (61.5% proficiency to 58.2% proficiency)— eliminating the achievement gap.  

At CAPS Central in Plainfield, this past year 100% of students were accepted to college–including top tier universities like Princeton University, Harvard University, and New York University–and the senior class earned more than $13 million in scholarships. Furthermore, that graduating class took an average of 5.3 AP courses. 

CAPS is also proud to have been recognized for this success. Our network was recently named a quarterfinalist for the 2023 Yass Prize. The prestigious $1 million prize is considered the “Pulitzer of Education Innovation,” and recognizes education organizations for providing a sustainable, transformational, outstanding and permissionless education. 

While we’re so proud of what we’ve accomplished, we know we have a lot more work to do. Our goal is that each and every one of our students is prepared to excel in and graduate from one of our country’s top colleges or universities. Together, we know we can get there.