The Blessings of Young Dreams

The CERN Story

Camden is blessed with an abundance of bright,
energetic, creative young people. Sadly, this is not the normal report one gets about our citys youth. Yet despite the negative articles and the dreary television specials, Camdens young people have dreams, ambitions and plans. While we wish setting goals and aiming high were enough, we realize that young dreams come true with the help of caring adults. The aid of caring adults has traditionally been centered in the local urban public school. In these days of unprecedented school violence, disorder, and underperformance, the challenge of crafting young dreams and shaping realities has become increasingly problematic. As a result, many Camden youths have fallen between the cracks of an educational system rife with troubles. Discouraged by violent attacks, constant threats of bodily harm and general disorder, many parents and students have decided their local schools were not safe enough to provide an efficient education. Unfortunately, having few known options, parents began removing their children from the schools - opting instead for the safety of the home. In our view, this constituted an educational emergency.

this group of dedicated grassroots leaders set about to establish CERN as a safe neighbor learning environment. Through CERN, parents are provided a creative option through which their children can engage the resources, activities and relationships that address the possibilities of future success.

CERN is not a school

It is a neighborhood learning environment; which means we are available to help anyone seeking advancement through a deeper commitment to increase their educational skills. CERN offers programs in Math, Science, Language, the Arts and Humanities. This menu of services is designed according to three purposes:

Stabilization:

CERN
The Community Education Resource Network (CERN) was conceived through the efforts of a diverse group of community servants seeking to respond to Camdens educational crisis. Realizing the vulnerable state of any young person lacking the benefits of a solid education,

Many students seeking refuge at CERN have suffered the trauma of school violence. Our goal is to provide an environment of stability and care. We believe children learn better in a friendly peaceful community. Here they are allowed the freedom to be their unguarded selves. We joke that our motto should be At CERN we dont fight - We write.
Encouragement:

Many students have not yet been encouraged to succeed. Most have not enjoyed the continued

positive reinforcement that should be part of any education process. We take the time to get to know young people and to work with them in developing a learning plan that considers their talents, goals and dreams. Our continued engagement with students helps us uncover with them hidden skills and special gifts.

obstacles, are in the right hands - hands that care and explore every avenue that leads to success. CERN will continue to provide resources and relationships sufficient to overcome anything that threatens the advancement of Camdens young people. Keeping Students in School Camden Students are at high risk of not graduating. The following graphic shows the graduation rate for Camdens two major High Schools is over 50% less than the State average. Source: NJ Dept. of Education

Graduation Rates 2003-06

Advancement:

100 80 60 40 20 0

CERNs challenges are significant. We are attempting to equip students with the knowledge and skills that usher them to new levels of achievement. This means college for many. Sadly, most of these bright children of promise have not been adequately prepared by the school system for this endeavor. Only two of the students who frequent CERN have previously been encouraged to pursue college entry. A greater concern than this is the fact that many Latino students here have not been prepared to reach proper levels of English language proficiency. This represents a significant obstacle to exercising options within higher education. Yet these students, with their

Camden High Woodrow Wilson State

The alternatives to these young people being educated are too dire to consider. In a city with an alarmingly low rate of high school graduation and a crisis of chronic youth underachievement, CERN represents for them the best opportunity to bless us with realized hopes and fulfilled dreams.

Eastside Prep

is dedicated to the idea that all students have both the right and the ability to achieve great things. We accept any student willing to take a chance at success, regardless of nationality, religious affiliation, academic aptitude, or past disciplinary or legal troubles. We knowingly and willingly embrace Camdens most highly at-risk students. Our experience with such young people has taught us that every young heart has an open door. We have witnessed pathology turned to promise. Thus, we are confident that, given the proper resources and ample time, every Camden student can achieve prime performance. Your help is vital in delivering the promise of a chance. Together we can truly prepare students for future challenges. Invite us to your church, business, organization or association to learn more about this remarkable story of promise.

CERN and Eastside Prep cofounders Angel Cordero and Rev. Tim Merrill bring over 40 years of community service to this unique urban education effort. They envision creative solutions to community needs emerging in every troubled city in America.

Supporting this center, in a city with a

deep public education crisis, is by all accounts a moral obligation.
~

Alonso Heredia - South Jersey Courier Post

We must not believe the many, who say that only free people ought to be educated, but we should rather believe the philosophers who say that only the educated are free.
Epictetus, Discourses

Eastside Prep Quick Facts Established: November 5th, 2007 Enrolled Students: 24, (18 students waiting) Demographics: 96% Latino, Average age - 16

What does promise look like? In our quickly

changing world, promise is often a volatile concept. Things taken for granted in the recent past are no longer guaranteed today. The life-long career, the solid neighborhood and the expectancy of a quality education have all begun their departure from the American core. As these past assurances fade away, one fact emerges - The work of effecting promise in the lives of young people is truly a challenging pursuit. At The Eastside Preparatory School, we assure one thing - the gift of educational and spiritual preparation, given for a chance at a future of promise. Considering lifes unpredictable flow, we can guarantee little more than this. Eastside Prep students are being prepared with the knowledge to recognize lifes opportunities, the courage to pursue them and the determination to see them through.

Staff: Two fulltime teachers, four part-time volunteer teachers, one part-time administrator Accreditation: Three year accreditation process due to be completed in 2011 Tuition: $30/month per family Most Pressing Needs: Operating funds, A lunch program, Science and Technology resources, Tuition sponsors, Fieldtrip Sponsors

Preparation in pursuit of lifes opportunities should not be taken lightly in troubled cities such as Camden. Many students never realize the gifts of promise because of the severe educational crises in our city. Johns Hopkins University has branded Camdens two major public high schools dropout factories. This describes high schools with dropout rates that exceed 60%. Eastside Prep students are refugees from such schools. They are refugees in search of promise and opportunity. Eastside Prep is one of a few faith-based alternatives to Camdens trouble plagued school district. It was created in direct response to the communitys desperate pleas for help. The school grew out of the Community Education Resource Network (CERN). CERN was established as a emergency response to the crisis of violence in the public high schools. This violence was especially targeted toward Latino students. Latino students, having the greatest academic challenges of all U.S. students (see graph below), can least afford the distractions of violence and dysfunction in their attempts to attain a quality education. At Eastside Prep, these students enjoy the warmth of a family setting, the encouragement of caring adults and the confidence that grows within a supportive environment. We realize that Eastside Prep is just a small effort to address the immense crisis in urban education. Yet, we stand as a model of possibilities. This is why our efforts must not fail. Hearing our students tell their stories of abuse and neglect in the public schools serves to harden our resolve to exhaust every means in securing a quality education for each one of these young people. Thus, we call on those of good will and caring hearts to join us in this effort of hope, progress, promise and pride.

U.S. Graduation and College Readiness Rates According to Ethnicity (1997-02)

Source: Manhattan Institute

CERN Quick Facts

Opened - January 3, 2007, as a computer-based learning center with an expectation of serving between 12-15 high school level students. Initial Attendance - 28 students of grade level 8-12 and beyond. Peak Attendance (as of 6-10-08) - 146 Operational Base - Education Annex of Bethel United Methodist Church. 3901 Westfield Ave., Camden, New Jersey Hours of Operation - 8:30 am - Noon Population Served - Primarily high school age Latino young people from diverse cultural and national backgrounds who live in various Camden Neighborhoods. Educational Approach - Emphasis on mathematics and verbal and written communication proficiency
CERNs Goals Are to:

Sunday, October 21, 2007 By MATT KATZ Courier-Post Staff CAMDEN

1. Provide access to significant educational resources for any Camden teenager seeking personal advancement. 2. Ensure that by August 2008 each young person regularly participating in CERN is proficient in high school math and is able to write a quality 500 word essay in English. 3. Assist each of our regular college-age participants in entering the next level of the educational or career process. Greatest Assets: A dedicated staff of full and part-time volunteers and the greatest group of young people one could ever imagine.

JOHN ZIOMEK /Courier-Post

Rev. Tim Merrill and student Cynthia Ordonez share a laugh while Miguel Cruzado concentrates on his work during writing class. "I love it here. I feel secure and everything,' said Ordonez

The school in the church takes what no one else seems to want. There are students who can't keep up, or sit still, or speak English well. There are those who have

served time, or attempted suicide, or gotten into too much trouble with the same crowd back at the public schools. And it's not just the students. The school in the church even took a chalkboard and textbooks it found in garbage bins outside of Camden schools. Now, after operating in the shadows of the traditional educational system since December, the Community Educational Resource Network school at Bethel United Methodist Church on Westfield Avenue is getting national recognition and some much-needed start-up funds. The National Association of Street Schools, a Denver group that provides financial and logistic support to faith-based schools, has signed up as a sponsor. And through that group, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is providing $57,750 that will allow the school to pay an administrator. Last chance

With the new funds, CERN will add a sister school next month: The East Side Preparatory Academy, for the East Camden neighborhood where it's located and the college-like preparatory atmosphere the organizers hope to create. CERN will enroll students who drop out of high school. These students are typically age 17 and up who are working toward a GED. East Side Prep will offer students, typically ages 16 and under, a four-year high school curriculum. Each will serve about 25 mostly Hispanic students from Camden, and that's why teaching English as a Second Language and Latin-American history are major elements. High enrollment CERN began last year as a home-schooling resource for a handful of Latino parents who were concerned about their children's safety at the city's Woodrow Wilson High School. In a matter of weeks, enrollment skyrocketed to dozens of students. Last June CERN graduated 14. One graduate is in nursing school, another is in the military and 12 are at Camden County College, according to CERN. Each day begins at 9 a.m. with a prayer in the chapel led by the school's two founders, who are a picture in contrasts. The Rev. Tim Merrill, 47, an African-American preacher, has a booming voice and a presence that stretches beyond his 6-foot-2 frame. Angel Cordero, 46, a Latino-American activist who bounces around while he speaks, is 5 foot 5.

"These are the hard-to-place kids -- the school system has given up on these kids," said Kevin Hagood, a volunteer teacher. "We're their last chance."

One day last week, the morning session began with Merrill sharing his "disappointment" that a student stole his laptop. "I'm disappointed, I'm not angry," he said. "The courage to provide a safe place for you to come has not been taken away from me." Safe Student after student used that word safe to explain why they enrolled at CERN. "I love it here," said Cynthia Ordonez, 14, who was referred to CERN by her therapist. "I feel secure and everything." Cordero picks up Ordonez at home and drops her off each day. He is de facto bus driver for about a half-dozen other students, too.

does not meet the standards of public schools: Classes meet from 9 a.m. to noon, supplies are lacking and although one teacher is a certified substitute teacher, none of the four full-time volunteer instructors has teaching certificates. But Merrill notes the teens arrive at CERN without learning skills, and with abilities that fall between third- and seventh-grade levels. "We have students who have been so alienated from the whole learning process that even the attempt to give basic education is something that they repel," he said. Expect to fail A Camden resident who home-schools his children, Merrill said he understands why they reject education. "These kids expect us to fail them," he said. "Students haven't been convinced that this educational experience is a worthy pursuit. . . And our job is to change the bioecology around these students and say this is an environment that will prove to you that it's worth it." The National Association of Street Schools believes CERN and East Side Prep can succeed in this task. "It isn't a ton of money from Gates or us, but it is a strong endorsement that they are going to be a good quality school," said NASS President Tom Tillapaugh.

"We're family," he told the students in the chapel. "We've got to protect each other, we've got to protect what we have here because without this, we have nothing." The state does not sanction private schools, and in some respects this school -- at least for now --

"That should make a funder in that area say, "That's worthy of my donation dollars,' because they know they have backup and expertise coming in from all over the country to make them a good quality school."

Tillapaugh has already visited CERN and said his group will assist with curriculum, training and finding new funding. They will also stop in a few times each year. Support needed Still, Cordero said the school needs more support. A paid consultant for school-choice group Excellent Education for Everyone, Cordero said he is angry that not a single Hispanic business owner in Camden has stepped up with money.

One student, Joshua Rodriguez, 18, said he didn't want to return to Woodrow Wilson after serving time for drug distribution because the district wanted to put him two years behind in 10th grade. "They didn't have high expectations like they do here," he said. Rodriguez, who has a daughter, wants to get his diploma from CERN in December and go on to Camden County College. "That opens up a lot of opportunities for me and my daughter as well," he said. "Right now I'm taking advantage of everything this program has to give." After Jimmy Cortes, 15, was locked up for a violent offense in eighth grade, his dad didn't want him to go to Woodrow Wilson where his old friends hung out. All three of his older siblings had dropped out of that school. "Now, I'm meeting new people," Cortes said. "It keeps me out of trouble. In (middle) school I always cut . . . Here I bring myself to school and even come early. This school makes me want to come to school." Elsewhere in the church, two students are getting personal instruction on the solar system, while two girls work on a project about LatinAmerican history. The church doesn't have Internet access; instead, the girls use encyclopedia software to do their research.

Without more support, Cordero describes the consequences as dire. "If we don't do anything, these kids don't stand a chance," he said.

Meanwhile, parent Mary Rodriguez checks on her son, Miguel Cruzado. He "wasn't learning anything" at Camden High School, she said.

"There were fights and I was afraid for my son's life," she said. Now, Cruzado is more helpful around the house, he's more mature and he knows more about math than she does. The early dismissal also allows Cruzado to work at McDonald's. "It takes time," Merrill said. "I've been working with kids for 30 years. If nothing else, I have patience."
WHERE TO CALL For more information about the Community Educational Resource Network school and the East Side Preparatory Academy at Bethel United Methodist Church on Westfield Avenue, contact Angel Cordero at (973) 342-0312 or the Rev. Mark Merrill at (856) 366-8704.

the Community Educational Resource Network for Homeschoolers, believed to be the first of its kind in Camden. Based at Bethel United Methodist Church, the school is part of a growing desire for alternatives to embattled public schools, especially in urban areas such as Camden, where violence has become epidemic and parents fears are escalating. Katerina Morales, 13, a seventh grader, said she felt safe at the center, a contrast to her former school, Cooper Poynt in North Camden. I was terrified to go to school each day, Morales recalled. I walked out of school a couple of times because of threats. I couldnt learn because I was too busy being terrified. Until now, the only options for poor parents were to hope for a spot in a charter school or keep their children at home. For the 2006-07 school year, more than 2,100 youngsters enrolled in five city charter schools. The homeschool center opened in January, and as word quickly spread, enrollment has gone from 15 students to 73 in grades 6 through 12. Classes, taught by a team of volunteers, are held daily from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The curriculum includes math, science, history and Spanish. Some students are transported to a literacy center in Camden for part of the day. Community activist Angel Cordero, who helped organize the center with the Rev. Tim Merrill, pastor of Bethel United Methodist Church, said the school was a base for families to assist each other in the homeschool endeavor.

CAMDEN STUDENTS
FINDING SAFE HAVEN
BY DWIGHT OTT AND MELANIE BURNEY The Philadelphia Inquirer The unassuming two-story red brick building sits on the corner of 39th and Westfield Avenue - a sanctuary for a small but growing number of Camden schoolchildren. Few in Camden are aware of this new educational effort. But that could change. More parents are turning away from the violence and scandals that have plagued South Jerseys largest school system, finding an alternative in

The parents dont have the time or the education to educate their own children at home. So they utilize the resources provided through the homeschooling center, said Cordero, a consultant with Newark-based advocacy group Excellent Education for Everyone.

We dont dispute the parental choice, but they have not yet properly withdrawn, district spokesman Bart Leff said. Ernie Williams, the districts chief attendance officer, said that although I dont approve of the way theyre doing it, if someone had notified me in advance [of the homeschooling] . . . I wouldnt make them come into court. Cordero said parents did submit notarized statements. I think its a form of intimidation, he said. But some parents are willing to face possible jail time over truancy, rather than send their children back to city schools. They cite incidents such as those in which two students now enrolled at the center faced guns at Camden High, a third arrested during a near-riot at Woodrow Wilson High, and another chased and beaten at Cooper Poynt. In effect, the parents of Camden are boycotting the Camden public schools . . . because year after year the district has promised to correct the problems but hasnt, said Merrill. Last month, a cafeteria brawl that injured five students and a security officer shut down Camden High. At least 20 students were arrested, and five expelled. Former Camden High junior Jonathan Garcia, 15, described the school as a war zone. He left in January after being threatened with a gun by gang members. Camden High is known for violence, he said. Learning is going on, yes . . . but at the same time there is a war going on.

In New Jersey, homeschooling is largely unregulated, and center officials are free to develop their own academic program. There are no standardized tests or curriculum requirements for the 2,300 youngsters who are homeschooled in the state, and certification is not mandatory for teachers. Students do not register with the district, and there is no required oversight. But parents are required to officially sign their children out of the public schools. Some Resource Network parents have received summonses to appear in municipal court because their children have not been officially excused and are counted as truant.

Gilbert Santiago, 16, another former Camden High junior, withdrew after seeing another student carrying a 9mm weapon. He said the recent melee only reminded him of how glad he was to be at the center. Its been good. Ive been learning more than at Camden High. Kenneth Domenice, who was arrested and suspended after a melee at Woodrow Wilson High, says hes getting a good education, even though the center is open only half a day. But Williams, the districts chief attendance officer, worries about how much students are learning. I dont know whether theyre getting the correct instruction or teaching there, he said. Cordero, noting the classes and trips to the literacy center, says the center has applied for certification from a homeschool association. He says the center, which relies on donations for materials, has one certified teacher, and three former volunteers from Urban Promise, an educational resource group. The other teaching volunteer is a member of the local NAACP. The majority of students will take the GED exam to get into a two-year business or trade program at Camden County College, he said. Merrill said the center was sponsored by his churchs Project Give Back ministry. It is a public-access learning environment. Its a lot more flexible than a school, said Merrill, who homeschooled his own children. That flexibility is just fine with Garcia. He said that the center had given him a new outlook and that college is now in his plans. Hes made

friends with students he once fought with at Camden High. No, I wouldnt say I like it here, he said. I love it here!

FOR EX-DROPOUTS, 'THIS RIDE HAS JUST BEGUN '

Courier-Post June 21, 2008 CAMDEN They walked in as dropouts. But when the 130-or-so students left Bethel United Methodist Church on Friday afternoon, they touted a new title: graduates."The only thing you can't do is fail," the Rev. Timothy Merrill told the new graduates, who earned alternative school diplomas through the nonprofit Community Educational Resource Network. "There are too many traps set out there for you. We can't afford for you to fall in the traps. "Decked out in yellow and crimson robes, the students made up the program's third and biggest graduating class. Merrill and community activist Angel Cordero founded the CERN effort in 2006, filling what they called a void in the Camden County education system.

CERN, which runs on a shoestring budget and volunteer labor, educates a cross-section of county residents who haven't finished a conventional education program. They have included former prisoners and an array of troubled teenagers. Thirty-five of the graduates Friday are adults -- at least one of them 50 years old. Dozens and dozens of relatives and friends Friday packed the church at 3901 Westfield Ave. for a lively ceremony rife with hope, prayer and relentless enthusiasm. "No longer shall we say "what if' or 'I could have,' student Ernestali Sepulveda said in her prepared welcome remarks. "We can't turn back; this ride has just begun."

"He lets us know not to let anything stop us," Morales said. Mark Hill, 16, of Camden found refuge in CERN after he was jumped at his old school in Sicklerville, he said. Hill's goal: to enter a trade school and become an electrician. The future of CERN, however, may be less certain. The Rev. Mark Merrill, a program supporter and Timothy Merrill's brother, said Friday that the effort is in a financial crisis and cannot continue next year unless it receives a cash infusion. He said organizers are trying to reach out for donations, including from big businesses. Reach Adam Smeltz at (856) 486-2919 or asmeltz@gannett.com.

SUPPORT HISPANIC
ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROJECT
Another new graduate, Jerica Morales, 18, of Camden talked privately before the ceremony. She spent about a half-year in the program and hopes to pursue higher education for a nursing career -- after she delivers her baby. Morales enrolled in the alternative network after she had problems as a student at Woodrow Wilson High School. She heaped praise on Cordero.
By ALONSO HEREDIA Courier-Post Staff

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 In the war against apartheid in South Africa, the African National Congress entrusted Nelson Mandela with an unforeseen and delicate secret mission.

Mandela, who became South Africa's first postapartheid president, says in his autobiography that he hesitated before taking on the responsibility to do a job for which he was not trained. But after thinking it over, Mandela decided to accept. He told himself, "What I need to know is already in the books." Today, Mandela would have said, "What I need to know is already in the books and on the Web." Desperate parents The recent graduation of 14 youths at the Community Educational Resource Network in Camden was born out of the desperation of 15 parents who refused to continue to send their children to Woodrow Wilson and Camden high schools. Everything started in January 2007 when these parents sought help from Excellent Education for Everyone (E3), led by activist Angel Cordero. They said they would not send their children to the public schools for two reasons: violence against Hispanic students and students who struggle academically.

The quick solution they found, under Cordero's leadership, was to look for a location to place those children under home-schooling guidelines. After knocking on many doors in the Hispanic community without success, Cordero found an African-American pastor who opened the doors of his church to this group. The Rev. Tim Merrill of Bethel United Methodist Church at Westfield Avenue and 39th Street, made the space available to the group. Merrill had the support of other ministers from his congregation, Mark Merrill and Carl Styles. The initial enrollment of 15 students has increased to 87 -- all of them Hispanic. The Community Educational Resource Network is an interesting phenomenon, but also worrisome. One notable aspect is that this initiative came out of the despair of parents who had no answers to the public school problems. They worked actively and found a solution. The serious public education problems in Camden will not be solved by a small group, such as the Community Educational Resource Network. This group amounts to little among the solutions that could be found to this problem. However, this experiment deserves more support than it has been given. It has faced indifference from people within the Hispanic community who could support it, including politicians and community and religious leaders. Saving grace

MARCIN SZCZEPANSKI/Courier Post Community activist Angel Cordero presents homeschooling options to Latino students and parents at a beauty salon across the street from Woodrow Wilson High School last year. Some students of the home-school program launched by Cordero recently graduated.

The pastors of Bethel United Methodist Church, even though they are not Hispanics, have made an unbelievable effort to keep the center open for these students. They have even had to sort

through issues ranging from a considerable increase in their electricity and water bills to lack of room and privacy. Some members of this church have privately expressed concern because peacefulness and devotion have been disturbed in this sacred place. After all, kids will be kids, and few know about discipline, order and care. The students found peace in the Community Educational Resource Network in the sense that they are not at the mercy of violent threats made against them at Camden and Woodrow Wilson high schools. However, things are not at peace academically speaking. Community Educational Resource Network does not have the basic resources to offer an adequate academic program. The

Challenges persist Yet, regardless of Cortes' capabilities and good will, it is impossible for one person to teach 87 students, with a wide range of ages, grades and subjects to cover. As if these challenges were not enough, there are virtually no teaching materials available to the Community Educational Resource Network. Its heart and soul is Cordero. His activism for quality education is well known. He has played every role in the organization, including putting his tenacity and might into the development of the project, but he also has academic limitations. Those in the Hispanic community who could have helped Cordero and Cortes have left them alone. This is reason to further praise the work of the African-American pastors who have done whatever they can.

Faced with the indifference from his own community, Cordero now places his hopes on a savior from the outside. First, Cordero talked about a university in New York that would build a modern school in Camden equipped with cutting-edge teaching tools. Then, he said Community Educational Resource Network would be moved to a successful educational project being developed in Milwaukee. program's only resources used to be 13 computers, which were stolen. They have not been recovered. Teaching responsibilities have been left completely to Mary Cortes. Besides being a community activist, Cortes had worked as a teacher in the past. Now, Cordero hopes that an organization in Denver, which he has not identified, will help. According to Cordero, Community Educational Resource Network might be getting a new school in a lot adjacent to the church where it is today. He also thinks the Campbell Soup Co. will help.

In the meantime, 14 students graduated on Friday. They graduated because they are older than 18, with the oldest being 22. Empty gestures The ceremony took place in the meeting hall of the city council chambers. The place was apt for blazing speeches by politicians. Some of these eloquent speakers have never been to Community Educational Resource Network. A few have briefly visited the program's premises. The ceremony was beautiful, with colorful balloons, smiles, praise and congratulations. But what about the graduates' future? Cordero says most of them are not prepared; some even have problems with reading and writing.

The effort to get these kids to college is commendable, particularly because of the enthusiasm they have now, as Cordero relates it. I do not doubt they can overcome the voids of their traumatic and irregular journey through high school. They will be successful if they set their minds to it. I truly hope they will because the Hispanic community in Camden urgently needs a youth population with an excellent education from the public or home-school setting so they can be productive and efficient when they enter the job market. A successful person is the result of many elements that add up from childhood. Education

But Cordero is sure they will enter Camden County College and Cortes will continue to tutor them and help them overcome their academic struggles.

is one. Mandela is right: What somebody wants or needs to know is in the books (and, I add, on the Web). The only catch is that the start of gaining this knowledge is learning to read.

"I'm so excited," said valedictorian Gisellda Duarte, 16, who withdrew from Woodrow Wilson High to attend the center. About 87 students have enrolled in the center since it opened in January in East Camden as an alternative to the violence and scandals that have plagued the city's public schools. Because home-schooling is largely unregulated in New Jersey, yesterday's graduates received diplomas that are not endorsed by the state. They must take a GED exam to officially graduate. "This is our high school diploma," Duarte said. "I'm proud of that." In the fall, at least 13 of the graduates plan to attend Camden County College, said Angel Cordero, a community activist who helped organize the center. One student plans to join the Army, he said. Based at Bethel United Methodist Church, the center enrolls grades 6 through 12. Center officials developed their academic program with no oversight by the local district. Classes were taught this year by a team of volunteers from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a curriculum that included math, science, history and Spanish. Students were transported to a literacy center in Camden for part of the day. There are no standardized tests or curriculum requirements, and certification is not mandatory for teachers, but some are certified, officials said. Graduate Wilson Fortuna, 18, said he believes the center helped prepare him to enroll in Camden County College in the fall. He plans to major in business administration.

HOME-SCHOOL DIPLOMAS MARK A

PROUD MILESTONE
A program founded as an alternative to Camden's schools sees its first graduates. By Dwight Ott, Inquirer Staff Writer

Wilson Fortuno, 18, gets congratulations from Gilberto Rodriguez as he receives a home-school diploma from the Community Educational Resource Network in Camden. Fourteen students graduated.

Their home-school diplomas may carry little weight, but they symbolize a milestone for a group of Camden students who fled the city's troubled school system.

With pomp and circumstance, the class of 14 students graduated yesterday from the Community Educational Resource Network, a home-school center, during a two-hour ceremony at Camden City Hall.

"It's something that I've been waiting for a long time," Fortuna said of his diploma. "I'm satisfied, myself."

CAMDEN DROPOUTS
GRADUATE
By MATT KATZ Courier-Post Staff CAMDEN

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Community Educational Resource Network, an alternative program for high school dropouts based out of Bethel United Methodist Church, graduated its second class Friday at a ceremony at city council chambers.

Before the home-school center opened, the only options for poor parents dissatisfied with the public schools were to hope for a spot in a charter school or keep their children at home. Some students have called the center - believed to be the first of its kind in Camden - a sanctuary because they feel safe there. The center is sponsored by the church's Project Give Back ministry. "Think of the thousands that could have been saved if there had been a school like this in the past," said Council President Angel Fuentes, adding: "This is not the end. Just the beginning."

Sixta Tobi (cq), center, is all smiles as she prepares to attend the graduation ceremony of her graduating class from Eastside Preparatory School, Friday, January 11, 2008 in Camden. (Douglas M. Bovitt/Courier-Post)

Among the 39 graduates were two parents -including Maribel Santiago, who graduated alongside her daughter, Jasmine Perez. Students received a home-school diploma that, although not recognized by the state Department of Education, is accepted at colleges, school cofounder Angel Cordero said.

Half of the graduating students have applied to Camden County College, while other students will go to trade schools. "We have opened up their desire for a better life and to pursue education more," Cordero said. "We have given them a chance." CERN began last year as a home-schooling resource for a handful of Latino parents who were concerned about their children's safety at the city's Woodrow Wilson High School. Volunteer teachers then gathered students to meet daily at the church, and enrollment skyrocketed. In June, CERN graduated its first class of 14 students. Also based at Bethel United Methodist Church is a new program, East Side Preparatory Academy, for students 16 and under. Unlike CERN, it offers a four-year high school curriculum and is modeled around a college atmosphere.

them an option they never knew existed: home schooling. Last week, a group of parents led by school choice advocate and Latino activist Angel Cordero pulled their kids out of the city's two largest high schools because of alleged violence so severe they felt lives were in danger. This week, Cordero recruited the Rev. Tim Merrill, a school choice supporter who home schools his three children, to give the families a primer on home schooling at Nelly's beauty salon on Federal Street. "It's an alternative if you can't go to school without getting beat up, or without learning reading, addition and subtraction," said Merrill, a lifelong city resident.

FEARFUL HISPANIC
KIDS GET OPTION
Wednesday, December 6, 2006 By MATT KATZ Courier-Post Staff CAMDEN The Latino families gathered in a beauty parlor across the street from Woodrow Wilson High School Tuesday night as a dreadlocked AfricanAmerican preacher with a booming voice offered The preacher offered the parents classroom and meeting space at Bethel United Methodist and Rosedale Baptist churches, both in Camden, resources such as curriculum books, access to computers and guidance on creating a coalition of parent-teachers. At age 16, he said, the students can even take classes at Camden County College.

But, he said, parents need to do the bulk of the work. "We're not proposing we open a school, we're proposing that if parents want to educate their children at home we have a network to provide the resources," he said. He said it didn't matter to him that some of the kids in the room claimed they were being victimized in school largely by blacks. "If we're not effectively educating our children," then it's going to "victimize black, Asian, Hispanic and white children," he said. Cordero has already recruited two teachers, including one who is a substitute teacher in the Camden district. He said home schooling won't last forever.

But the kids weren't at Nelly's Tuesday because of politics. They said they are simply scared. One mother broke down at the meeting and cried over her son's refusal to return to school out of fear. Ronny Polanco, 16, says he was attacked by a group of about 15 boys at Woodrow Wilson. "I don't go to school to do work, I go to school to watch my back," he said. Polanco's mother, who has a college degree from the Dominican Republic, is considering getting a night job so she can teach Polanco during the day. "I wouldn't have to worry about no violence and could do my work, improve myself," he said. Lawyers attended the meeting to help guide the parents through the process of withdrawing their children from school, but another meeting was set to work out more details. Parents still had questions -- about GEDs and SATs, about getting into college and avoiding arrests for truancy. Students seemed more sure. When asked if they wanted to be home schooled, more than a halfdozen students raised their hands.

"This will be temporary until the schools are safe," he said. "If your neighborhood schools are dangerous and not teaching our students, that's a violation of our constitutional rights." Long-term, Cordero is hoping that the Legislature will pass a bill that would provide $9,000 directly to families to educate their children where they choose. Cordero's critics say that railing against the current state of the schools certainly helps his pet project.

CAMDEN ALTERNATIVE
SCHOOLS FACE FUNDING CRUNCH
By ADAM SMELTZ Courier-Post Staff July 8, 2008

would take hold, by coincidence, at the same time the city's own adult education program is being cut back. "I think we've proven this is a need, and I think we've proven this is an effective approach," said the Rev. Tim Merrill, a Bethel pastor who established CERN with city activist Angel Cordero. "I think it's imprudent to let something like this live on the edge of the cliff. . . . This is Camden, where a lot of children are not learning."

CAMDEN It's not that Leslie Rodriguez didn't want to learn. She did. But at Camden High and Woodrow Wilson High, two dominant high schools in the city, she was depressed. The 17-year-old wouldn't linger in the halls, where metal detectors are an accepted fixture. "It was like a jail," said Rodriguez, a city resident who ultimately escaped the public school system. If the Camden schools were her only option, she said, "I would have never finished high school." For Rodriguez and more than 200 other Camden County dropouts and troubled students, salvation has come not from the city schools but from the private Community Educational Resource Network and its affiliated programs. The tuition-free organization, which includes CERN and East Side Preparatory School, has grown from a modest upstart in December 2006 to a full-blown alternative education group, bursting at the seams with dropouts, adult learners and other returning students. Its third graduating class, which finished course work last month, counted 137 graduates. Many go on to community college, jobs or vocational schools. Still, popularity has not brought wealth for the nonprofit group, which relies on a shoestring budget, an eight-volunteer staff and free space at Bethel United Methodist Church. Without a cash infusion, organizers said, the group may have to scale back programs by this fall -- a deep cut that

CERN targets older teens and offers homeschool diplomas, while East Side Prep offers a four-year program and prep-school diplomas. Together with their affiliated adult-education and distance-learning programs, they tout a retention rate upward of 90 percent, according to the organizers. The Camden city schools, by contrast, regularly see high school dropout rates in excess of 50 percent. For years, long before Cordero and Merrill formed their programs at parents' request, a

primary resource for dropouts was the city schools' adult-education unit at the Jerrothia Riggs Adult Educational Center. But the district pared back that unit last month, saving more than $2 million a year in a round of budget-balancing cuts encouraged by the state. More than 100 dropouts and other returning students, primarily city residents, had been enrolled before the cutbacks there.

State-funded GED courses are still available through the adjacent Pennsauken school district and other local programs. Pennsauken has capacity to absorb some students from Camden, Assistant Superintendent Martin Slater said. Cordero said the program closure at Riggs will probably push more students toward CERN and his group's other offerings, too. "You can bet your life on it," he said. Where CERN will find the money to keep up is less certain. So far, organizers have burned through about $75,000 in church funds, their own personal finances and small contributions to keep the operation afloat. Those resources are about to run out, they said. "One of the major crises is that we have not been able to generate donations in the form of money," Merrill said. "Our church's resources are about exhausted." He said the program has taxed his family's finances, as well. "I know my family cannot afford to do that any longer." Merrill and Cordero are reaching out for small contributions, corporate donations -- anything they can secure. Their goal is a $250,000 annual budget, an amount that they said could support much-needed field trips, equipment and some compensation for teachers. Instructors now volunteer their time and resources to educate the mostly Hispanic classes. "Without CERN, I think kids are going to be on the streets," said Mannie Cortes, a CERN teacher. "I'm not putting down McDonald's or anything, but they (students) have a future" beyond fast-food jobs.

The program at the Riggs Center equipped students with GEDs -- at no cost for city residents who enrolled. School spokesman Bart Leff said adult students who would have sought GEDs through the Riggs Center may now pursue equivalency programs in surrounding communities.

The only way out of poverty in Camden, Cortes added, is education. "Education is the basis of everything we have here in the United States."

"They're all my "dawgs,' " Cordero said. "And we show that we truly care." Reach Adam Smeltz at (856) 486-2919 or asmeltz@gannett.com.

Jasmine Perez, 19, of Camden left school in Sicklerville after she ran into problems there, she said. She enrolled in CERN for 18 months, graduated and now is training to become a massage therapist. Cordero, Perez said, has a way of calming the students. "Everybody got along. He was good to us." Rodriguez, the 17-year-old from Camden, has graduated from CERN to Omega Institute, where she is training to become a medical assistant. Still mastering English since her move here from Puerto Rico, she said she found in the CERN program a precious commodity -- patience. Cordero said the group stresses three other keys: communication, respect and love. Anyone who shows up with a frown gets an interrogation: Why so glum?