Camden school union elects veteran paraprofessional to represent teachers and support staff

Pamela Clark knows she has big shoes to fill as the new president of the Camden Education Association representing the rank-and file — from teachers and security guards, to bus drivers and classroom aides.

Clark, 54, was elected last spring in a contentious race to lead the union. She defeated five candidates — four teachers and a social worker — vying for the position to represent about 1,060 members, including custodians, clerks, and attendance officers.

She became the 14th president of the union and the youngest and first Black female education support staff member to hold the position in the more than 50-year history of the union. She succeeded Keith Benson, a history teacher who led the association for seven years.

“We are really fortunate to have her as our leader. I’m proud to call her my president,” Benson said. “She has my full confidence.”

It is unusual but not uncommon for a paraprofessional to lead a local, according to Steve Baker, a spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association. Teachers make up the bulk of the union’s more than 200,000 members statewide, he said.

“Was I happy for her to get in? Absolutely,” said Lisa Taylor, the union’s administrative assistant who has worked for six association presidents. “It’s the year of the woman for me.”

Clark said she has put the election behind her and focused on her first big challenge, reaching a new contract with the South Jersey school system. The union’s contract expired in June 2023 and members have been working without an agreement.

“I’m moving forward to try to get things done,” Clark said in an interview last week. “We want to settle now.”

Clark believes the sides are close to reaching a deal, possibly as early as October. The last agreement was settled during the pandemic and union members went 900 days without a contract, something she hopes to avoid this time.

An attendance officer since 2018, Clark has been employed in the district for more than three decades. Her tenure has been tumultuous at times. When she started in 1990 as an instructional assistant, now known as a paraprofessional, the union had more than 5,000 members. Over the years, she held several positions and was twice laid off during reductions in force and later recalled.

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Born and raised in Camden, Clark grew up in the Centerville section with five siblings. She graduated from then-Woodrow Wilson High School in 1988. An avid sports fan, she wanted to become a sports agent, but eventually followed the footsteps of her mother, an instructional assistant in the district.

Clark said she is still developing a platform for her presidency. She wants to recruit younger members, especially men, to get involved with the union, and push for more professional development and in-person meetings. As president, she will work full time for the union during her three-year term.

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Benson, her predecessor, was quick to speak out against district policies. He made headlines in 2019 when he organized a three-day walk to Trenton with other activists to demand more funding from lawmakers to close a budget deficit and avoid layoffs and school closings.

“I’m going to walk my walk, 10 toes down in the street,” Clark said. “If I have to draw a line in the sand, I’m not afraid.”

Clark has stressed three priorities for the union: camaraderie, solidarity and unity. The certified teaching staff and the support staff have separate contracts with different provisions, but all are represented by a single bargaining unit.

“She pushes the buttons in the right direction,” said Sturae Meyers-Spearman, who serves as the union’s first vice president. “She’s fighting for our contract.”

Clark said she has a good relationship with Superintendent Katrina McCombs and wants to work closely with her to fill critical vacancies for teachers, guidance counselors, social workers, and support staff. She plans to conduct a 17-day listening tour and wants to speak with members who have inquired about retirement just weeks into the school year.

“We have to make the jobs lucrative,” she said. “The competition is steep out there.”

Clark served as the union’s treasurer from 2014 to 2024, the longest-tenured officer in the association’s history. She reluctantly decided to run for president after Larry Blake, a longtime union leader and teacher who was expected to seek the position, died suddenly in 2023.

“I don’t take anything for granted with longevity, here today, gone today,” Clark said. “I just got comfortable and said I’m going to do it.”

Clark said the union was on the brink of joining a chorus of calls for former school advisory board president Wasim Muhammad to resign amid a sexual abuse scandal involving a former student. Muhammad resigned Sept. 13.

“It was a big distraction,” she said.

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Clark said she will miss her job as an attendance officer, knocking on doors and scouring the city for truant students. The die-hard Eagles fan said she will “still be in the streets for my members.”