Camden will spend $49 million to fix up Eastside High School, the district’s largest lump-sum investment

First, there was a new name to shed any connection to a shameful past. Now, Camden’s Eastside High School, formerly known as Woodrow Wilson High, is getting a sweeping makeover to renovate the nearly century-old structure.

Standing in front of the building on Federal Street in East Camden Friday, Superintendent Katrina T. McCombs and city officials unveiled what they billed as a $49 million “investment in equity” at Eastside. It is believed to be the largest lump-sum federal investment ever in the economically disadvantaged school district.

“You are worth more than that,” McCombs told students who joined in on the rousing applause at the announcement. “We are going to use every dime of that wisely.”

A gigantic tiger statue, the latest public artwork in Camden, was also officially unveiled Friday in a park across the street from the school. Eastside’s mascot is a tiger, and officials hope it will help instill school pride for its ninth through 12th graders.

Camden schools earmarked funds for the renovations from the Elementary & Secondary School Relief (ESSER) money allotted as part of the American Rescue Plan to help the nation’s schools recover from COVID-19 when learning was disrupted and schools closed.

“All we want as parents is for our kids to have a fair shot at life, to have opportunities to succeed,” U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D., N.J.) said in a statement. “This is about our future.”

» READ MORE: Camden's Woodrow Wilson High School renamed

Opened in 1930 as a junior high, Eastside is among the oldest public school buildings in Camden, and many have said it was long neglected. In a project funded by the state, the district last year replaced its other comprehensive high school, Camden High, with a sleek $131 million campus that also houses three magnet high schools.

In January, the school board decided to change the school’s name because of the segregationist views and ideas of the former U.S. president and N.J. governor. McCombs requested the change two years earlier, citing Wilson’s past and the protest over the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

“You can change a name, but if you don’t change what happens on the inside, nothing matters,” McCombs said.

Following the announcement, the entourage toured the school, visiting classrooms to see firsthand the improvements needed. In the science room, they gasped when the principal pointed out a rusty lab table that has been around about 90 years. In the cosmetology room, the teacher explained she needs more stations and better lighting to avoid turning off the overhead lights every time she shows students a white screen.

McCombs said the renovations at the 29,300-square-foot school — which will include replacing the science labs, art rooms, automotive and cosmetology rooms, gym, auditorium, lighting and HVAC system — will be completed over three years.

» READ MORE: New Camden High School completed for the start of the school year

Honors student Jaheen Green, 16, a junior, said the project was long overdue. A basketball player and aspiring businessman, Green said it will be important for students to get a new gym floor, lockers, library and computer systems.

“The building is really old,” said Green. “Walking down the hallways, you can feel how outdated it is.”

Green said he believes the makeover will help change the image of the Camden school system, a state-takeover district plagued for years by failing test scores and high drop-out rates. Thousand of students have left the traditional public schools for charter and Renaissance schools that have opened in the city.

“When most people look at us, they don’t see greatness,” said Green. “I’m here to say greatness is in all of us.”

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Also Friday, McCombs and Mayor Vic Carstarphen cut the ribbon on a 26-foot-long metal tiger sculpture erected in Dudley Grange Park across the street from Eastside. It was created by Lisa Adler and her husband, Don Kennell, of DKLA Design in Sante Fe, N.M.

Adler said it took the team about three months to make the tiger using 60 orange, black, white, brown and tan car hoods salvaged from junkyards, its head and paws made with new metal. The 8,000-pound statue was transported across nearly 2,000 miles to Camden on a semi-truck and assembled in the park, she said.

“We probably used all of the hoods in our 100-mile radius,” she said. The artists maintained the recycled hoods’ original factory paint and car manufacturer insignia, which is visible on the 12-foot-tall statue. The couple also created the 32-foot-long panther that sits across from Camden High in Farnham Park.

“People love animals. It’s inspiring,” said Adler.

Carstarphen said he believes the statue will be a destination spot in the 9-square-mile city, especially for selfies. But he warned: “Just don’t climb on the tiger!”