A Mother Of The Movement

The Camden City School District (CCSD) is currently under state control. Under then-Governor Chris Christie, New Jersey took over CCSD in 2013. In the 13 years since, CCSD has closed, or transfered ownership of to charter schools, 12 of its schools and lost over half its students (from 12,608 students during the 2012-2013 school year (SY) to 6,596 in SY25-26), both exacerbated by the Urban Hope Act.

A school district takeover is meant to directly improve students’ academic performance. However, so far, the primary function of CCSD’s school district takeover has been to manage school district functions. In Camden, this management has looked like outsourcing Camden students’ education to privately administered charter schools and charter-managed organizations under the alleged guise of providing better education for students.

The Cost of Diverting Resources from Public Schools

The consequence of this approach and shifting in priorities has led to the  diversion of resources away from CCSD. The reallocation of resources away from CCSD, or any public school district, in favor of the “competition” sabotages CCSD’s effectiveness. 

You can improve a public school district by investing in materials and people. When this is not done it only creates a negative feedback loop that reinforces the data points school privatization advocates use to elevate charters and demonize public school distrcits like CCSD. But the goal shouldn’t be to elevate one category of schools over others, but to elevate all Camden students more broadly. 

The Fight to Restore Local Control in Camden

While some parents embrace Camden’s new reality, others push back and call for local control to be restored. This would mean restoring governing power over the school district and returning it to Camden residents, like in Jersey City, Paterson, and Newark. Only Camden and Lakewood are under state control. 

The parent group leading the charge is the Camden Parents and Students Union (CPSU). Their website lists their demands and provides a historical overview of the city’s current education system. Their demands are as follows:

1. Return Camden to Local Control​
2. Stop School Closures & Mergers
3. Follow the Money
4. Invest in Students
5. Establish Community Accountability

Ronsha Dickerson’s Call to Action for Camden Parents

I had the privilege of speaking briefly with CPSU’s Executive Director, Ronsha Dickerson, a daughter of the city and a community organizer dedicated to Camden’s people for over 20 years. She shared a few insights to contextualize the fight for local control and the challenges that must be overcome. I started by asking her to clarify the mission and goals of CPSU:

DICKERSON: Our goal was to expose the state takeover and the corruption taking place in our school district. Our goal was [and remains] to educate, inspire, and take action when needed. We realized parents didn’t know how political forces, from the state down to Camden, were moving fast to put privatization in a powerful position in Camden. We were looking to create a place for anyone who was confused, frustrated, or motivated to learn about what was happening to CCSD, to have a space we could collectively build together.

MILLER: What inspired you to enter into this struggle? You’ve been engaged in collective struggle for Camden’s residents for decades, but what led you to form CPSU and fight to help residents regain local control?

DICKERSON: CPSU started out as a rapid response, with a handful of parents and community members who were on post for the students that bravely did a student walkout in 2015. I received a call from a student organizer asking how they could do a walkout. The first state-appointed superintendent, Paymon Rouhanifard, had laid off about 300 teachers in May of 2015, the week of Mother’s Day. The teachers were devastated, and students were hurt. Many of the teachers were educators they had grown to like, love, and admire. So they huddled across schools, desiring to walk out. Organizing a walkout wasn’t part of my experience. I reached out to my elders: Robert Dickerson, Claudia Cream, Roy Jones, and Mangoliso Davis. They walked me through that process. After that, I called a few parents to see if they could stand guard and walk with the students to make sure they were protected in their protest. The students organized themselves. We were there for protection and guidance. From that action, we realized that, at the time, Camden didn’t have enough parent or student organizations focused on training or mobilizing parents, students, and the community. So my warrior sister Byheijja Sabree and I put our heads together and co-founded CPSU.

MILLER: Why is it important for Camden’s residents to regain local control over CCSD?

DICKERSON: Camden must regain local control because 13 years under state control have made our district worse. We are in a $91 million budget deficit under state control; we have watched thousands of educators get removed under state control; we have watched our student enrollment numbers decrease and watched Renaissance and charter schools’ student enrollment increase by 30 to 40 percent. We have watched the CCSD superintendent’s cabinet take large salary increases; we have watched Camden One Enrollment be the “great pretender” of the best and easiest way to register your student in any school, which ultimately stole the parent’s right to choose and their autonomy. We have watched the unethical democracy of voting for an elected school board get co-opted by the Camden City and Camden County political machine, which ultimately stole the right to a fair and just process to vote for candidates running for the school board seat in a nonpartisan election. Camden did not need state intervention; we just fit the criteria for the state to put a noose around our neck through what the state created called NJQSAC. The state had always been in Camden since I was an elementary student at Whittier School. I remember teachers cleaning classrooms, organizing paperwork, and making new bulletin board displays because “the state was coming.” What’s most important is that the state is well aware of what is happening with CCSD, and while we have been at 80% or higher and compliant in 4 out of 5 of the DPR Areas of the NJQSAC, the NJDOE and NJ Education Commissioner, past and present, still refuse to return Camden, or even transition Camden School District, back to local control.

MILLER: Last question. Why do you believe regaining local control and engaging with CCSD from a governance position isn’t a top priority for residents, like athletics, for example?

DICKERSON: I answer this question with softness in my heart for all my parents that wish to push their children to greatness. Here is the thing: If my child was good at running, yes to track meets and track coaches. If my child is good at basketball, yes to basketball tournaments and camps. The same is true for any other sport. Where I have to be a bit stern, however, none of these things will benefit our young people if their parents aren’t advocating for their education and the circumstances surrounding it, e.g., environment, school culture, school climate, extracurricular activities, etc. Parents of small children are excellent at showing up at school events and even attending PT conferences, but we lose momentum when they get to the higher grades, with a spirit like, “Y’all got it!” We have to advocate for our children that we send to these institutions with an understanding that prejudice and racism are real, and your advocating is a return on your investment. Our children are customers and clients too. My hope is that we can get just a little more enthusiastic about our students’ curriculum, our district’s school budget, and our school board members the same way that we get excited about Friday Night Lights and Play-off Season. Our students need to see us give a balanced energy to their academic career too. So no, not a dig at our sports community or any parent- just bringing attention to the fact that we have to advocate for the whole student!

I hope Mrs. Dickerson and CPSU succeed in advocating for the return of local control to the people of Camden. The power is indeed with the people. The people just need a reminder. This is the work of CPSU.