Camden City School District planning to have 2 full-time teachers in elementary school classrooms
CAMDEN, N.J. - Camden City schools are expected to receive $115 million in federal funding from the American Rescue plan for COVID relief.
Most of the money will be spent fixing up the city’s school buildings, including replacing aging and expensive HVAC systems.
"We have to make sure our kids are in safe buildings and that our staff is safe. But also, we have to make sure instructional we are doubling down on our efforts," Superintendent Katrina McCombs said.
The school superintendent tells FOX 29 that the district is planning to put two full-time certified teachers in every elementary school classroom in the City of Camden. She says the district doesn’t want students to lose the "learning gains" that students achieved in recent years.
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"Two teachers are in the classroom and while students are doing independent work, there is the opportunity, for now, two adults to have personalized learning interactions, individualized instruction," McCombs added.
So far, the district has hired enough second teachers to fill classrooms in kindergarten through second grade. the goal is to hire more teachers through the school year and continue the program next year.
"We want to make sure those youngest learners are able to get the foundational skills that may have been compromised due to the pandemic," she said.
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