The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Lt. Gov.-elect Dale Caldwell stopped by Central Jersey College Prep Charter School on January 13.
The visit, sponsored by the school and New Jersey Tutoring Corps, was highlighted by a discussion on education policy, the intersection between K-12 schools and higher education, and working together in the future to best serve public school scholars, according to a press release on the visit.
The visit included a tour of NJTC’s tutoring facility at the school.
Now in its third year of service since formally launching statewide as a nonprofit organization, NJTC has grown from serving 500 New Jersey scholars in its first year to more than 15,500 scholars in 247 locations across the state, according to the release.
Initially established as a needed corrective response to the state’s dramatic learning gaps exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the organization has since evolved to become the focal point for implementing and advocating tutoring in public schools and community organizations throughout New Jersey and has been instrumental in partnering with school districts and public charter schools to establish and operationalize more tutoring throughout the state, according to the release.
“It was an honor to visit the Central Jersey College Prep school, meet some of the dedicated teachers, and learn more about the ways that they are collaborating with New Jersey Tutoring Corps to help students succeed,” Caldwell said in the release. “We know that the pandemic left some children behind – and that’s why Governor-elect Sherrill and I are committed to supporting and expanding access to high-impact tutoring to address learning loss. Every child deserves access to a high-quality education that will open doors and create opportunities that we know New Jersey can provide.”
“We are so thankful to meet with the Lt. Governor-elect right before the Inauguration,” NJTC CEO Katherine Bassett said in the release. “Dr. Caldwell has served as one of the state’s leading education authorities for many years, and it was an honor to provide him with a look at high-impact tutoring through our partnership with CJCP, listen to the voices of our tutoring professionals, and discuss how we can work together to ensure more public school scholars can receive high-impact tutoring.”
“As we head into the new year with a new Administration, it is clear we will have an executive team committed to public education, knowledgeable about education policy, and willing to take bold steps and build needed partnerships to improve educational outcomes for scholars,” she said in the release. “After three years of hard work and diligent service, this visit was a deeply impactful moment that made the entire NJTC team feel greatly valued by the state.”
“For years, CJCP has educated some of the most at-risk and educationally disadvantaged students living in Central Jersey, with many never daring to dream of attending college before setting foot in our school,” CJCP’s Chief Education Officer, Namik Sercan, said in the release. “CJPC has proven through our student results and data that when given the opportunity and needed support, every child can succeed in school and attend college.”
“Today, we demonstrated to Dr. Caldwell what he has long advocated – that generational change in our public schools is possible when given the chance,” Sercan said in the release. “Dr. Caldwell’s expertise in education, vision for the future, and optimism provided an important example to our team.”
“For too long, ideology and politics have hindered efforts to improve New Jersey’s public education system,” he said in the release. “Dr. Caldwell’s commitment to bringing people together and working collaboratively gave us all real hope for the future. We are grateful for the visit and look forward to his further direction in the future.”
NJTC was created through a public/private partnership that united support from statewide anchor institutions such as the Overdeck Family Foundation, The Tepper Foundation, the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, the New Jersey Children’s Foundation, the Prudential Foundation, The Carlson Family Foundation, the Debra and Kenneth Caplan Foundation and investment from the state, through the continued support of Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz, Senate Education Committee Chair Vin Gopal, and state Assemblywoman Andrea Katz and Assembly Budget Chair Eliana Pintor Marin, according to the release.
Throughout the school year, NJTC co-designs tutoring programs with schools, districts, and community partners, ensuring that its research-based, evidence-rich program meets each partner’s needs. NJTC follows the recommendations of the Annenberg Institute and the National Student Support Accelerator for effective high-impact tutoring. Specifically, staff members provide responsive, personalized, hands-on instruction aligned to New Jersey state standards. Partners co-design each implementation. Tutors are often embedded throughout classrooms during the school day and receive support from instructional coaches and site coordinators. Tutors serve scholars in 30- to 60-minute embedded sessions during the school day, after school, or in summer programs two to three times per week. The program provides a 1:1 to 1:4 tutor-to-scholar ratio for each tutoring session, with the same tutor working with the same scholars throughout a program cycle, according to the release.
CJCP’s learning community is among the most diverse in the state, with a strong emphasis on serving low-income families and students of color, and is one of New Jersey’s most decorated public schools, according to the release. For the last several years, U.S. News and World Report has ranked CJCP as the top public charter high school in New Jersey, the U.S. Department of Education has named CJCP a “National Blue-Ribbon School,” the highest possible designation granted to a K-12 school, and the state Department of Education has awarded CJCP a Tier 1 designation, the highest possible ranking for a public charter school in the state, according to the release.
In addition, the school has been widely recognized for its exemplary high-performing classrooms and for its work to close the achievement gap in the Central Jersey region, according to the release. Since its inception, 15 years ago, 100 percent of its senior class has graduated on time and have been accepted to a college or university for the following Fall, according to the release.
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