West Cape May School District Explained

West Cape May Elementary School
Superintendent:Zachary Palombo
Businessadmin:John Thomas
Address:301 Moore Street
City:West Cape May
County:Cape May County
State:New Jersey
Zipcode:08204
Coordinates:38.9403°N -74.9336°W
Grades:PreK to 6
Schools:1
Enrollment:86 (as of 2022–23)
Faculty:10.2 FTEs
Ratio:8.5:1
Free Label:District Factor Group
Free Text:DE

West Cape May School District is a community public school district located in West Cape May in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that serves students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.[1] [2]

In the 2016–17 school year, the district had 98 students, making it the eighth-smallest district in the state.[3] [4]

The district has been a participant in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program.[5]

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 86 students and 10.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.5:1.[6]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "DE", the fifth-highest 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.[7]

For seventh through twelfth grades, public school students attend the schools of the Lower Cape May Regional School District, which serves students from Cape May, Lower Township and West Cape May, along with students from Cape May Point who attend as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[8] Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[9]) are Richard M. Teitelman Middle School[10] with 439 students in grades 7 and 8, and Lower Cape May Regional High School[11] with 764 students in grades 9-12.[12]

In 2013, the Lower Cape May Regional School District received a feasibility study that looked at ways to reconfigure the district, which had been established in 1956. The study considered Cape May City withdrawing from the regional district or the dissolution of the district, converting Lower Township's existing PreK-6 district to serve PreK-12, as the regional district's school facilities are located in the township. Cape May City and West Cape May could see annual savings approaching a combined $6 million from the dissolution.[8]

History

Previously a West Cape May High School existed. In an era of de jure educational segregation in the United States normally only white students were permitted to attend though the state made exceptions.[13] Ordinarily black students attended Downingtown Industrial High School instead of West Cape May High. The district maintained separate white and black elementary schools, the latter West Cape May Colored Elementary School.[14] "The Annex" was the school for black elementary school children. In 1948, when segregation was still active, white children in Rio Grande (Middle Township) were sent to West Cape May for grades 7-12.[15]

West Cape Elementary previously served up to grade 8.[16]

In 2020, the West Cape May district began sharing a superintendent with the Cape May City School District.[17] In Summer 2021 Zachary Palombo became the shared superintendent of both the Cape May City and West Cape May districts.[18]

School

West Cape May Elementary School serves students in grades PreK-6. The school had an enrollment of 102 students in the 2017-18 school year.[19] It has a capacity of 117.[8]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[20] [21]

Board of education

The district's board of education is composed of five members who set policy and oversee 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 either one or two seats up for election each year held (since 2012) 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.[22] [23] [24]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/09/5610 School Performance Reports for the West Cape May School District
  2. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/5610 New Jersey School Directory for Cape May County
  3. Procida, Lee. "Sea Isle, Long Beach Island are examples of how closing small, high-cost schools can be difficult, unpopular", The Press of Atlantic City, September 20, 2011. Accessed March 12, 2015. "The 10 smallest school districts in the state each have fewer than 100 students. Seven of them, all in South Jersey, are grappling with shrinking enrollment, aging buildings and rising property taxes.... West Cape May disregarded a recommendation to send students to Cape May, and instead started welcoming students from outside its borders through the state Public School Choice program. The first 16 choice students increased the prekindergarten-through-sixth-grade school's enrollment to 58 students this year."
  4. Guion, Payton. "These 43 N.J. school districts have fewer than 200 students", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 2017. Accessed January 30, 2020. "Based on data from the state Department of Education from the last school year and the Census Bureau, NJ Advance Media made a list of the smallest of the small school districts in the state, excluding charter schools and specialty institutions.... 8. West Cape May Borough - Enrollment: 98; Grades: Pre-K-6"
  5. https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/1516/09/5610/000.html West Cape May School District 2016 Report Card Narrative
  6. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3417400&DistrictID=3417400 District information for West Cape May School District
  7. http://www.state.nj.us/education/finance/rda/dfg.shtml NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts
  8. Johnson, Virgil; and Kirtland, James L. "A Feasibility Study to Reconfigure the Lower Cape May Regional School District", Statistical Forecasting LLC, June 2013. Accessed October 31, 2014. "Cape May City is one of three constituent communities served by the Lower Cape May Regional School District ('Lower Cape May Regional'), a limited purpose school district providing education for the middle and high school students from Cape May City, Lower Township, and West Cape May.... Students from Cape May Point attend on a sending-receiving basis."
  9. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3409090 School Data for the Lower Cape May Regional High School District
  10. https://lcmrschooldistrict.com/rmtgeneralinformation Richard M. Teitelman Middle School
  11. https://lcmrschooldistrict.com/lcmrgeneralinformation Lower Cape May Regional High School
  12. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/2820 New Jersey School Directory for the Lower Cape May Regional School District
  13. News: Stump. Brice. Who was Charles Chipman?. The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. 1998-01-13. 11, 12. - Clipping of first page and of second page at Newspapers.com
  14. News: Charles H. Chipman Is Outstanding Man. The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. 1981-02-23. 6. - Clipping at Newspapers.com
  15. Jensen. Noma. A Survey of Segregation Practices in the New Jersey School System. The Journal of Negro Education. Winter 1948. 17. 1. 84–88. Journal of Negro Education. 2966093. - CITED: p. 86.
  16. News: 14 Graduate at W. Cape Elementary. Press of Atlantic City. 1955-06-08. - Seen in preview .
  17. Web site: Barlow. Bill. Cape May sees big population drop in census, while home prices soar . The Press of Atlantic City. 2021-08-21. 2021-08-22.
  18. News: Fichter. Jack. Cape, West Cape schools will share superintendent. Cape May Star and Wave. 2021-06-23. 167. 25. 1.
  19. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3417400 School Data for West Cape May School District
  20. https://www.wcmschool.net/staff Staff Directory
  21. https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/district/county/cape%20may New Jersey School Directory for the West Cape May Elementary School District
  22. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election
  23. https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/cafr/search/18/5610.pdf#page=40 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the West Camp May School District
  24. https://www.wcmschool.net/o/wcmes/page/board-members Board Members

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "West Cape May School District".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.