Newark, Is It Really THAT Bad?

New Jersey has certainly built itself a reputation that most would considered tainted or find extremely difficult to revive. There have been hundreds of thousands of cases in the garden state relating to crimes such as gun violence, rape, kidnapping, sexual predators, and so on. Some places are better than others as far as crime rates are concerned, but the overall perception of the state isn't so great. Looking closer into the magnifying glass we focus more on specific cities in the state, which have become notorious for on-going violence and offenders; cities such as Camden, Paterson, Jersey City, and Newark- to name a few. It has reached a point that it is expected for these areas to have high crime rates, and low academic excellence. The retention rate of New Jersey students is falling behind the standard, and more school districts are running into problems trying to keep students in school and boost their intellectual capabilities. According to an online news outlet, "New jersey has in past years given some 15% of all diplomas to students who fail their exit exams but do some remedial work they're not tested on." Instead of lowering standards to graduate more students, such schools keep the higher standards and do all they can to bring students up to par.

Newark, which is known to be one of the most dangerous cities in New Jersey, is actually excelling in academics being ranked in the country's best high schools across the nation.

"North Star Academy, Science Park, University and Technology were among 54 New Jersey high schools bestowed with a numerical ranking under the magazine’s methodology. North Star was ranked 19th in the state and 253rd nationally; Science Park 35 and 604, respectively; University 49 and 1,633; and Technology was ranked 52 on the list of New Jersey's best high schools and 2,069 among public high schools across the country. Team Academy Charter and American History and Arts were also counted among the nation's "best" schools under the magazine's methodology but did not get a specific numeric ranking. Nearly one-third of Newark’s 14 public high schools received a ranking." (article)

The board of education in Newark certainly has their thinking caps on straight because they are serving their city well. This isn't the first of Newark's high schools being listed next to the country's best schools and I can infer that it certainly will not be the last. Now, it is just a matter of continuing the commitment to success in the education system, as well as getting adolescents off the streets and back into the books.