The Paterson Public Schools (PPS) is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Paterson, New Jersey, United States. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide, which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.
As of the 2011â€"12 school year, the district's 48 schools had an enrollment of 24,365 students and 1,845.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a studentâ€"teacher ratio of 13.21:1. As of October 2014, the district had an estimated enrollment of 28,139 students. For the 2014-15 school year, the district anticipated a budget with total expenditures of $591 million and per pupil spending of $16,696.
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "A", the lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.
Among the 594 students who took the SAT in 2013, the mean combined score was 1120 and there were 19 students (3.2% of those taking the exam) who achieved the combined score of 1550 that the College Board considers an indicator of college readiness, a decline from the 26 students (4.3%) who achieved the standard the previous year.
District enrollment in Paterson surged at the start of the 2015-16 school year, creating a public school enrollment of 700 students higher than expected and putting the school district in a situation of needing to hire teachers rapidly not long after the district had laid off 300 positions.
State intervention
Paterson Public Schools' Teacher Recognition Program 2010-2011 - Stand-out teachers recognized at annual event -- The 2010-2011 Paterson Public Schools' Teacher Recognition Program brought together all of the various Teachers of the Year from district schools...
The district is one of three districts in New Jersey (along with Newark Public Schools and Jersey City Public Schools) under "state intervention", which authorizes the Commissioner of Education to intervene in governance of a local public school district (and to intervene in the areas of instruction and program, operations, personnel, and fiscal management) if the Commissioner has determined that a school district failed or was unable to take corrective actions necessary to establish a thorough and efficient system of education.
Schools
Schools in the district (with 2011-12 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are:
- Elementary schools
- School 1 (PreK-5; 280)
- School 2 (K-8; 606)
- School 3 (K-8; 466)
- Rev. Dr. Frank Napier Jr. School of Science and Technology #4 (1-8; 569)
- School 5 (K-6; 1,424)
- School 6 (PreK-8; 411)
- School 7 (5-8; 251)
- School 8 (K-8; 519)
- Charles J. Riley, School 9 (K-8; 1,295)
- School 10 (K-8; 499)
- Newcomers Program, School 11 (4-8; NA)
- School 12 (K-8; 519)
- School 13 (K-8; 588)
- School 14 (K-4; 238)
- School 15 (PreK-5; 715)
- School 18 (PreK/1-8; 1,212)
- School 19 (K-4; 351)
- School 20 (K-8; 479)
- School 21 (PreK-8; 705)
- School 24 (PreK-8; 813)
- School 25 (K-8; 656)
- School 26 (K-8; 577)
- School 27 (K-7; 863)
- School 28 (PreK-2; 474)
- School 29 (K-4; 324)
- Dale Avenue School (PreK-2; 322)
- Early Learning Center (K; NA)
- Edward W. Kilpatrick School (PreK-4; 437)
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Complex (K-8; 831)
- New Roberto Clemente School (6-8; 799)
- Norman S. Weir School (K-8; 265)
- Roberto Clemente School (K-4; 349)
- St. Mary's Early Learning Center (PreK; NA)
- Alternative Middle School (6-8; NA)
- Madison Early Learning Center (PreK; NA)
- Elementary academies
- Alexander Hamilton Academy (K-8; NA)
- Don Bosco Academy (6-8; 999)
- Paterson Academy for the Gifted and Talented (2-8; NA)
- Urban Leadership Academy (K-4; 149)
- High schools
- Eastside High School
- School of Information Technology @ Eastside (9-12; 645)
- School of Government & Public Administration @ Eastside (9-12; 625)
- School of Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism @ Eastside (9-12; 642)
- International High School (9-12; 386)
- John F. Kennedy Educational Complex
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) (9-12; 564)
- School of Architecture and Construction Trades @ JFK (ACT) (9-12; 485)
- School of Business, Technology, Marketing and Finance @ JFK (BTMF) (9-12; 575)
- School of Education and Training @ JFK (SET) (9-12; 23)
- Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts (9-12; 248)
- Garrett Morgan Academy for Transportation and Engineering
- Panther Academy - Academy of Earth and Space Science (9-12; 226)
- Academy of Health Science (HARP) (9-12; 265)
- ROADS
- Students Transitioning and Achieving Real Success (STARS)
- Great Falls
- Paterson Adult & Continuing Education (PACE) Adult High School or G.E.D.
- Silk City Academy (9-12; 888)
- YES Academy (9-12; 216)
- Destiny Academy
Administration
Core members of the district's administration are:
- Eileen F. Shafer, Acting State District Superintendent of Schools
- Daisy Ayala, Business Administrator / Board Secretary
Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine announced in March 2009 that he was recommending the appointment of Evans as the district's superintendent, with the State Board of Education ratifying the nomination of Evans by Lucille Davy, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education.
References
External links
- Paterson Public Schools
- Paterson Public Schools's 2015â€"16 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- School Data for the Paterson Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics
