Camden’s free summer school is giving students reasons to feel ‘proud’

After flunking classes during the last school year, hundreds of Camden high school students are getting back on track for the upcoming year at summer school.

Some teens fell behind because they were skipping school or cutting class. Others experienced family problems or personal setbacks that made it hard to focus on academics.

Now, they’re taking advantage of a second chance to make up work in four core classes during a four-week credit recovery program.

Kelly Martinez, 17, a rising junior at Camden High School, said she regularly left school early or didn’t go at all on those days she didn’t feel like making a 20-minute trip to school from downtown, where she lives. She failed chemistry and health education. A year older than most of her classmates because she was retained in the third grade, she didn’t want to be left back again.

“I didn’t like how I failed, but it was my fault. I didn’t really do the work,” she admitted. “I feel like I’m going to do better.”

Martinez and a handful of students sat in a science class at the high school Tuesday working independently on assignments. They all are on track to successfully complete biology, physics or chemistry classes, said Tracy Freeman, their teacher.

“These kids are not dumb,” Freeman said. “They can do the same work as any other kids can do.”

» READ MORE: Camden administrators and students make a plea to sign up for summer school

District officials expected to enroll about 1,000 students in thefree summer program, which began July 5 and ends Friday. All public school students in Camden, from rising kindergartners to high schoolers, were eligible to attend. The district provides breakfast and lunch as well as transportation for students. Younger students attend enrichment programs.

The district is betting summer school will increase student achievement and boost graduation rates. The program cost about $500,000, and is“worth every penny,” Superintendent Katrina McCombs noted at a kickoff event in June.

Freeman said some students suffered learning losses during the pandemic. Camden schools were among the last in the region to fully reopen and some lessons, especially some math concepts, were difficult to present during remote learning, she said.

Angel Miranda, 17, a rising senior at Camden High, had to make up Freeman’s biology class after failing for not submitting a required science fair project. A right fielder on the baseball team, he wants to graduate with his class and possibly attend Rowan University, he said.

“I knew if I didn’t come to summer school I would get left behind,” Miranda said. “I didn’t want to do that.”

The high school program was held at the Camden High complex and across town at Eastside High School, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Students can take up to four subjects: math, English, science and health and physical education.

Faced with the possibility of being held back, Miranda and others who need to make up credits are often highly motivated in summer school. The environment is more relaxed and classes are shorter, about an hour. The program also has tough discipline: students must be on time and no more than two excused absences.

“I want to make myself proud,” said Martinez, an aspiring health care worker. “I want to graduate.”

» READ MORE: ‘I’m glad I got this opportunity to make up my wrongs.’ Summer school offers a second chance for Camden students to catch up

Ta’jhon Brown, 17, an upcoming Camden High senior, said he had trouble staying focused throughout the 84-minute classes mandated by the district’s new block scheduling system. Previously, classes were about 45 minutes. He failed Spanish, biology and health education.

“It was mainly the sitting part,” Brown said. “I don’t like sitting long too much.”

Freeman said inattentiveness and restlessness have become common problems since students returned to in-person learning. Other reasons some students fall behind academically include difficult home situations, child-care issues and personal challenges.

“This gives them an opportunity in a quiet environment, where they may have become discouraged and given up,” said Freeman, a teacher in the district for 23 years.

Brown has successfully completed all three courses and is ready for the new school year. He plans to join the Navy immediately after graduation to study marine biology.

“I’m going to do my best,” Brown said. “I don’t have time to play around.”

After spending half of his freshman year in the Dominican Republic with his family, Jose Reyes struggled with physics. He believes he took in more during the summer session and will be ready for his sophomore year.

“I’m going to try not to get behind again,” Reyes said. “ ... I don’t want to come back here again.”