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New Schools

Volunteer Donate Calendar Directions News About Us 25th Anniversary

Paterson School Facilities

In 1998, the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Abbott V decision directed the state of New Jersey to replace decrepit buildings with new schools so that our children can learn effectively...

Leaky roofs
Broken science labs
Classrooms without heat
Classrooms with too much heat
Overcrowded classrooms with more than 30 kids

That was then.

Unfortunately, that is also now. Since 1998, the State has only built 3 new schools in Paterson-PANTHER Academy, Roberto Clemente and the soon to open International High School.

Paterson’s Children Need New Schools. Now.

We need to reduce overcrowding in our high schools. Eastside and John F. Kennedy High Schools are each have 500 more students that they were built to serve.

And as we are successful at keeping students to graduation, the schools become even more crowded. In fact, if Eastside and Kennedy kept all their freshman through to graduation, we need 1,000 more seats or more than 40 regular classrooms, not counting more gym and cafeteria space.

Consider as well that the new high school reforms call for all students to take three years of science. Neither school has sufficient lab capacity to meet that goal.

All of this and more is detailed in Paterson’s Long Range Facility Plan.
Click here for Paterson’s 2005 Long Range Facility Plan.
Click here for Paterson’s current school construction priorities.
Click here for the plans for International High Schools, due to open in 2008.

Our children need our help now. New schools for our children are equally as important to New Jersey’s future as roads, bridges, open space and stem cell research. We are spending state money on those initiatives. Are our children less important?

What Can You Do?

Take action. Click here to write Governor Corzine, our state legislators or the newspaper about your concern. Become part of the NJ Education Organizing project. Our children will only get new schools if we demand it.

Want to learn more? Plan to join us at our annual conference in January on "Planning and Building Community Schools." (view calendar) We will be pressing the new legislature for new school construction dollars.

For the history of Abbott School construction, go to www.edlawcenter.org
For the Building Our Children’s Future Coalition, go to www.njbocf.org

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