Camden announces plans to replace century-old Eastside High, the only standalone traditional public high school left in the district

Eastside High School was built in 1929 and is one of the oldest buildings in the public school system. The new school will likely be built on the same site on Federal Street in East Camden.

Camden schools Superintendent Katrina McCombs and others are given a tour to show how Eastside High School has fallen into disrepair, following an event Monday to announce plans to rebuild the school. More than a century old, the new school will cost an estimated $105 million.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

by Melanie Burney

Published Sept. 18, 2023, 5:15 p.m. ET

Instead of the face-lift promised less than a year ago, Camden’s nearly century-old Eastside High School will be demolished and replaced under a $105 million project, Superintendent Katrina McCombs announced Monday.

McCombs unveiled the plans for one of the district’s oldest schools at a news conference in Eastside’s auditorium lauded by a cheering crowd and cheerleaders with sparkling pom-poms. It will be the second new traditional public high school built in Camden in the last five years.

“This project represents the next bold step in our journey towards creating a brighter future, ensuring that every child feels seen, heard, and supported,” she said. “We’re not just building a school; we’re building a stronger, more equitable future.”

The project will be funded by New Jersey’s School Development Authority, which oversees the state’s plan to improve schools in Camden and other needy districts. The authority funds projects to address serious facility deficiencies.

McCombs said details about the project still must be worked out, but the new school will likely be built on the same site on Federal Street in East Camden and take three to five years to complete. It will have capacity for about 750 students, she said.

During construction, current students will be moved to another school; a location has not been identified, she said. Eastside currently enrolls about 486 students in grades nine through 12.

Built in 1929, the school has fallen into disrepair over the years. It was formerly known as Woodrow Wilson High, but the name was changed because of the segregationist past of the former president and New Jersey governor.

District officials last year were prepared to launch a $50 million project to refurbish the building, but scrapped those plans after some preliminary work showed renovations would not be enough to bring it up to standard.

“You deserve the best,” State Sen. Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D., Camden) told students Monday. “The whole school needs to be demolished.”

U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D., N.J.), who represents the district, said he contacted Gov. Phil Murphy after touring Eastside in November for the renovation project. He was stunned by the condition of the school, including an antiquated science lab with equipment that has been around about 90 years.

Norcross said he told Murphy: “This is unacceptable.”

“It was that shocking of a moment,” Norcross said. “Our children’s education and the quality of the educational facilities should not be determined by a zip code.”

Camden currently has 10 traditional, charter, and Renaissance high schools that enroll about 5,000 students. McCombs said the district still needs Eastside High because it offers courses not available at Camden High School, such as automotive training.

During an advisory school board meeting in March, McCombs and school business administrator Ray Coxe outlined a proposal for a 203,000-square-foot Eastside that includes new computers, welding, performing arts and video labs, and additional self-contained special education classrooms.

The district has been under pressure to replace Eastside after a sprawling, new $133 million Camden High School complex opened in the city’s Parkside neighborhood in 2021. With a capacity for 1,200 students, it houses Camden High and three magnet schools — Brimm Medical Arts, Creative Arts, and the Big Picture Learning Academy.

The old Camden High was a Gothic landmark razed in 2017. The new building was the first entirely new high school constructed in Camden in 100 years.

Under state takeover since 2013, the district began working with the state to replace its last remaining traditional high school. It will likely mean upheaval for students and staff, but it will be worth it, said Principal Gloria Vega, who has worked at Eastside for 20 years.

“Things are falling apart,” said an emotional Vega. “It’s exciting to see the changes.”

The former Woodrow Wilson High opened as a junior high in 1930 and became a high school three years later. Today, it is the only stand-alone traditional public high school in the district. Prominent graduates include Mike Rozier, a 1983 Heisman Trophy winner, Council President Angel Fuentes, and former Mayor Frank Moran.

McComb said this year’s seniors will probably be the last to graduate from the current building in June. Senior Jahaan Green, 17, said his younger peers deserve a new school.

“It’s a new era. I feel like it’s drastically needed,” said Green.

Freshman Moucha Rivera, 16, agreed, although she too, will not attend the new school. She hopes the new school will have more classrooms, state-of-the-art equipment and fully operating air-conditioning.

“At least the people who come after me get to experience the new school,” she said.