How a Great School is Breaking the Cycle of Poverty in America's Poorest City

In the early 1990s, Gloria Bonilla-Santiago hatched a plan to create an alternative school for families in the impoverished city of Camden, New Jersey, who were desperate to avoid sending their kids to the city's abysmal public system.

She became deeply involved in building political support to pass the state's first charter school authorization bill. In 1996, the charter school bill passed, and the following year she opened a new school called LEAP in a vacant lot on the Camden waterfront.

Today, the school occupies 5 buildings on Cooper Street, offering its students a cradle to college education, and it's the most successful school in the city. While the four-year graduation rate in Camden's traditional public schools is 61 percent, LEAP has a graduation rate of 98 percent, and every member of its 2014 graduating class got into college.

This profile of LEAP is the second in a three-part video series on Camden public schools.

About 5:30 minutes.

Shot, edited, produced and narrated by Jim Epstein. Production assistance from Brett Crudgington.

[TheStrazy]

Those in government keep saying the parents need to take a active interest in their child's education but when they do the public school system says "It takes a village" and parents should sit down and shut up to let the professionals take control. Here we see the parents did stand up and take a active role and it worked out for the best. The government creates dependency to a lesser system. More people need to take a stand.

[QuishaKing]

I wish I could "like" this a million times! There are terrible schools all over America and parents need more choice on where their child attends school.

[Xenthoid]

I'm glad that those students beat the odds. I hope more will.

[tarstarkusz]

I call BS and the new charter schools that can't turn kids away will prove me right. Getting accepted into a college doesn't mean ANYTHING. Any HS dropout can be admitted to a community college and then drop out 6 months later. You cannot even begin to imagine what Camden is like. What makes Camden so awful is the people living there.

[LibertyDownUnder]

At 1:44  "move your tassels from left to RIGHT!"
A hidden message to people who want a better future??

[tonyaldorsey]

You can get great results when you have 100% buy in from all stake holders...students, parents, teachers, tax payers and policy holders., but for failure you only need 1 of those not to buy in to your system.

[angryzak]

"I believe in order for people to make headways against the system they need to make headways in their own house." -Denzel Washington

[BadMouse]

Hold on... 61%!?

The school I was at in England aimed to get 55% of students passing GCSE... And I wasn't in a poor town.
61% is higher!? :O

[WT]

1:03, that guy with the yellow shirt looks like Rick Ross's long-distance brother.

[quintessenceSL]

You know, it would be grand if Reason interviewed Chris Hedges, being the most eloquent speaker for the opposition. Cut to the heart of the matter, and see what's what.

[thomaslumpkin]

This is what needs to be pursued to end the trend of poverty & indoctrination & to promote real education & prosperity.

[blarg]

15 is not 70% of 28. What math are they using?

[BioStock]

"My father was a homeless drug addict." Yet he still had sex. Lots of guys with jobs that who sleep alone tonight. We don't have an education problem, we have a sex problem.

[LOUDMOUTHTYRONE]

We can't solve poverty if black women don't except responsibility.

[Ozbrithian]

That's nice for the [slur redacted] but what about employment security for the poor teachers?

I mean let's be honest, no one ever has or will give a damn about these worthless subhumans and a little edjumication won't make them less poor. The focus of the school system should not be about lost causes but continued support of the teachers themselves.

[looks at comments on this and similar videos] shit, at least my racism is over the top and obviously satirical.

[plato]

What party supported better educational opportunities for minorities? The Republicans did, the Democrats fight Charter schools or school voucher programs tooth and nail because Democrats support Teachers Unions, not Minorities or students. The poorer minorities are the more the become beholden to government social programs.