LEAP (Leadership, Education, and Partnership) Academy University Charter School is a charter school that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grades from Camden, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school operates under the terms of a charter granted by the New Jersey Department of Education. Founded in 1997, the school is split into three divisions, a K-6 lower school, a 7-12 upper school and a STEM high school for grades 9-12.[3]
As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,557 students and 106.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.7:1. There were 1,200 students (77.1% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 160 (10.3% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
History
Based on an idea by Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, the school was one of the initial group of 16 statewide granted a charter by the New Jersey Department of Education and was the only school in South Jersey to be granted a charter.[4] The school opened in September 1997 in temporary facilities with 324 students in grades K-5, who had been selected by lottery from 500 applications submitted.[5]
The school moved to its permanent location on Cooper Street in 1999 and graduated its first eighth-grade class in July 2001, by which time the school had an enrollment of 500 students in grades K-8. The school opened for grades 9-12 with a total high school enrollment of 216 students for the 2001-02 school year under the terms of a second charter.[6]
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 213th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools".[7]
Athletics
The LEAP Academy Lions[2] sports programs are overseen by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[8] The school is not affiliated with a league or conference.[9] With 350 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.[10]
^Lucas, Judith Thomas. "S. Jersey's first charter school welcomes kids", Courier-Post, September 16, 1997. Accessed April 11, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The 324 young students seemed unaware of their place in history as South Jersey's first charter school opened Monday.... The school is for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Any Camden resident could apply. About 500 students did, and 324 were chosen by lottery."
^Colon, Vanessa. "LEAP Academy graduates first class", Courier-Post, July 19, 2011. Accessed April 11, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The kindergarten-to-eighth-grade school has an 11-month academic year and 500 students. The city's second charter school, the LEAP University High Charter School, will open in September. It will have 216 students in the ninth-through-12th grades.... The charter school opened in September 1997 and moved to its permanent location at 7th and Cooper streets in September 1999."
