Paterson Public Schools


The Paterson Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Paterson, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprised of 43 schools, had an enrollment of 24,692 students and 1,762.0 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 14.0:1.
Among the 594 students who took the SAT in 2013, the mean combined score was 1120 and there were 19 students who achieved the combined score of 1550 that the College Board considers an indicator of college readiness, a decline from the 26 students who achieved the standard the previous year.
District enrollment in Paterson surged at the start of the 2015–16 school year, creating a public school enrollment of 700 students higher than expected and putting the school district in a situation of needing to hire teachers rapidly not long after the district had laid off 300 positions.
WWW paterson.k12.nj.us𝕏 paterson_public

History

The district had been one of two districts in New Jersey under "state intervention", which authorizes the commissioner of education to intervene in governance of a local public school district if the commissioner has determined that a school district failed or was unable to take corrective actions necessary to establish a thorough and efficient system of education. Initiated in 1991 as part of an effort to improve academic performance in the district and lasting for three decades, state control of the district ended in January 2021.
Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine announced in March 2009 that he was recommending the appointment of Donnie W. Evans as the district's superintendent, with the State Board of Education ratifying the nomination of Evans by Lucille Davy, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education.
The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "A", the lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.

Schools

Schools in the district are:
;Early Learning Centers
;Elementary Schools
  • Dale Avenue School
  • Edward W. Kilpatrick School
  • Full Service Community School / School 15
  • School 27
  • Charles J. Riley / School 9
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Complex
  • School 16
  • School 21
  • Fine & Performing Arts Program / School 24
  • School 25
  • School 26
  • School 28
  • School 19
  • Roberto Clemente School
  • Renaissance One School of Humanities / School 1
  • School 5
  • School 7
  • Alexander Hamilton Academy
  • Norman S. Weir School
  • School 2
  • School 3
  • School 8
  • School 10
  • School 12
  • School 13
  • School 20
  • Senator Frank Lautenberg School / School 6
  • Rev. Dr. Frank Napier Jr. School of Technology / School 4
  • School 18
  • Young Men's Academy
;Middle Schools
  • Dr. Hani Awadallah School
  • Joseph A. Taub School
  • New Roberto Clemente School
;High schools

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.
The district voted in September 2013 voted by a 5-4 margin to move school elections from April to November. An attempt by members of the Paterson City Council in January 2022 to shift elections back to April failed after the vote ended in a 4-4 tie.