Central Jersey College Prep Announces 100 Percent Senior Graduation And College Acceptance
All of Central Jersey College Prep’s senior class will graduate on time this Spring, and each student has also been accepted to a college or university next Fall, continuing an unprecedented senior class streak for CJCP which began in 2011.
Next Fall, this year’s senior class will be attending schools such as Harvard, West Point, honors programs around the country, and schools throughout New Jersey, including Rutgers, Rider, Kean, and Montclair State.
The announcement that all of CJCP’s seniors will graduate comes on the heels that U.S. News and World Report‘s annual nationwide ranking of high schools cited CJCP as the top public charter high school in New Jersey, ranking the school No. 32 among 406 high schools ranked in New Jersey, No. 707 out of nearly 24,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia
“For over ten years, the month of May has been a moment for great celebration for every family enrolled at CJCP,” Dr. Namik Sercan, CJCP’s Chief Education Officer, said in a press release. “While we are once again thrilled with the great accomplishments of our entire student body, there is one data point that stands out – 35 percent of our graduating class will be the first in their family to attend college or a university.”
“No matter how you look at it, this is a truly amazing accomplishment for a public school,” Sercan said in the release. “CJCP is clearly creating generational change for some of the most at-risk students in New Jersey, providing needed equity and support for first-generation students, and specifically serving New Jersey families who have been forced to confront systemic racism in our public education system for too long.”
“Most of all, these great accomplishments by our students are showing the entire state that every New Jersey public school student can succeed if simply provided with the opportunity to great teachers, facilities and a great learning environment,” he said in the release.
“I got accepted from Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, NYU, William & Marry, USC, BU, and decided to go to Harvard,” CJPC Student Debora Ortega-Maldonado said in the release. “I am so happy and honored. CJCP has offered many AP courses that I could not receive in other local area public schools and excellent faculty that helped boost my GPA.”
“Because of CJCP, I had great options for my future, and the strong support system CJCP built through college counseling helped me a lot,” she said in the release. “I am grateful for my wonderful teachers and a diverse community who have been supporting me since sixth grade.”
“I got accepted to pretty much every school I applied for, and I committed to West Point Academy,” CJPC Student Vernon Spencer said in the release. “My family, teachers, and especially my counselor always helped me stay focused.”
“It wasn’t easy to be a student-athlete,” he said in the release. “Still, a great support system at CJCP pushed me to excel in my academics besides extracurricular activities and the leadership role I took in my team. I am thankful for my family and teachers, who helped me become the best version of myself.”
CJCP has previously named by The U.S. Department of Education as “National Blue-Ribbon School,” the highest possible designation granted to a K-12 school, and has been widely cited for exemplary high-performing classrooms and their work in closing the Achievement Gap within the Central Jersey region. In addition, CJCP has also been awarded by the New Jersey Department of Education with a Tier 1 designation, the highest possible ranking for a public charter school in the State.