In a city where dropout rates are always among New Jersey’s highest and test scores are among the lowest, one experimental school, Camden’s MetEast High School, opened in 2005, had zero drop-outs among its first graduating class this year, and a college acceptance letter in each of their hands.
The class sizes are small, educators are called “advisers,” not teachers, and they stick with the same group of students all four years. As important, classes are built around the idea that students will learn by following their passions.