The Blessings of Young Dreams

The CERN Story

CCamden is blessed with an abundance of bright,

energetic, creative young people. Sadly, this is

not the normal report one gets about our city’s

youth. Yet despite the negative articles and the

dreary television specials, Camden’s 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.

CERN

The Community Education Resource Network

(CERN) was conceived through the efforts of a

diverse group of community servants seeking to

respond to Camden’s educational crisis.

Realizing the vulnerable state of any young

person lacking the benefits of a solid education,

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: 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 don’t 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.

Advancement:

CERN’s 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

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

Camden’s young people.

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.

0

20

40

60

80

100Graduation Rates 2003-06

Camden

High

Woodrow

Wilson

State

Keeping Students in School

Camden Students are at high risk of not

graduating. The following graphic shows the

graduation rate for Camden’s two major High

Schools is over 50% less than the State

average. Source: NJ Dept. of Education

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ddeeeepp ppuubblliicc eedduuccaattiioonn ccrriissiiss,, iiss bbyy aallll

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~~ AAlloonnssoo HHeerreeddiiaa -- SSoouutthh JJeerrsseeyy CCoouurriieerr PPoosstt

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

Camden’s 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.

Hispanic Education:

An Issue Requiring

Special Attention CERN and Eastside Prep co-

founders 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.

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 life’s unpredictable flow,

we can guarantee little more than this.

Eastside Prep students are being prepared

with the knowledge to recognize life’s

opportunities, the courage to pursue them

and the determination to see them through.

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mmaannyy,, wwhhoo ssaayy tthhaatt oonnllyy

ffrreeee ppeeooppllee oouugghhtt ttoo bbee

eedduuccaatteedd,, bbuutt wwee sshhoouulldd

rraatthheerr bbeelliieevvee tthhee

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oonnllyy tthhee eedduuccaatteedd aarree ffrreeee.. EEppiicctteettuuss,, DDiissccoouurrsseess

Hispanic Education:

An Issue Requiring

Special Attention

Eastside Prep Quick Facts

Established: November 5th, 2007

Enrolled Students: 24, (18 students waiting)

Demographics: 96% Latino, Average age - 16

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 life’s 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 Camden’s 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 Camden’s trouble plagued school

district. It was created in direct response to the community’s 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.

Source: Manhattan Institute

U.S. Graduation and College Readiness Rates

According to Ethnicity (1997-02)

Sunday, October 21, 2007

By MATT KATZ Courier-Post Staff

CAMDEN

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

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

CERN’s Goals Are to:

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.

CCEERRNN QQuuiicckk FFaaccttss

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

"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."

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.

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.

"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 --

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.

"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.

Without more support, Cordero describes the

consequences as dire. "If we don't do anything,

these kids don't stand a chance," he said.

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 Latin-

American history. The church doesn't have

Internet access; instead, the girls use

encyclopedia software to do their research.

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.

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 Jersey’s

largest school system, finding an alternative in

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 couldn’t

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.

“The parents don’t 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.

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.

“We don’t dispute the parental choice, but they

have not yet properly withdrawn,” district

spokesman Bart Leff said.

Ernie Williams, the district’s chief attendance

officer, said that although “I don’t approve of the

way they’re doing it, if someone had notified me

in advance [of the homeschooling] . . . I

wouldn’t make them come into court.”

Cordero said parents did submit notarized

statements. “I think it’s 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 hasn’t,” 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.”

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.

“It’s been good. I’ve been learning more than at

Camden High.”

Kenneth Domenice, who was arrested and

suspended after a melee at Woodrow Wilson

High, says he’s getting a good education, even

though the center is open only half a day.

But Williams, the district’s chief attendance

officer, worries about how much students are

learning. “I don’t know whether they’re 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

church’s Project Give Back ministry. “It is a

public-access learning environment. It’s 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. He’s made

friends with students he once fought with at

Camden High.

“No, I wouldn’t 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."

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.

"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

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 post-

apartheid 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.

MARCIN SZCZEPANSKI/Courier Post

Community activist Angel Cordero presents home-

schooling 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 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

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

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.

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.

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.

But Cordero is sure they will enter Camden

County College and Cortes will continue to tutor

them and help them overcome their academic

struggles.

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

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.

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.

"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.

"It's something that I've been waiting for a long

time," Fortuna said of his diploma. "I'm satisfied,

myself."

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."

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.

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 co-

founder 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.

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 African-

American preacher with a booming voice offered

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.

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.

"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.

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 half-

dozen students raised their hands.

CAMDEN ALTERNATIVE

SCHOOLS FACE

FUNDING CRUNCH

By ADAM SMELTZ • Courier-Post Staff • July 8, 2008

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

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."

CERN targets older teens and offers home-

school 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.

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.

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 only way out of poverty in Camden, Cortes

added, is education. "Education is the basis of

everything we have here in the United States."

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?

"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.