A History of Collingswood Elementary Schools

The All In for Collingswood referendum will create an academically enriching, inclusive, and sustainable future for our schools.  In addition to looking ahead, this plan also considers our past. Voting yes on the referendum will modernize Collingswood schools and address historic barriers to education. 

Timeline graphic - see text below

1905: Sharp Elementary Built

1915: Garfield Elementary Built

1923: Newbie Elementary Built

1947: New Jersey Amends Constitution to Integrate Schools

New Jersey schools have a long legacy of racial segregation, despite the state amending its constitution to outlaw school segregation seven years before Brown vs. Board of Education outlawed school segregation at the federal level.

    1951: Tatem Elementary Built

    1954: Brown vs. Board of Education

      However, residential segregation persisted, even after the Fair Housing Act, due to discrimination and other structural factors. Neighborhood schools often reflect neighborhood demographics, and New Jersey currently has one of the most racially segregated school systems in the US.

      1956: Zane North Elementary Built

      Collingswood, New Jersey currently has five elementary schools serving a district that is fewer than two square miles. This “neighborhood school” structure offers convenience, but has also segregated students by ability, language, and race. The oldest elementary school currently serves the highest percentage of students of color.

      1968: Fair Housing Act

      1971: Good Shepherd Elementary Built

      As Collingswood’s student population grows, its school buildings have aged well beyond the average. Our two oldest schools, each built over 100 years ago, can not feasibly be renovated to become ADA-accessible. English Language Learners are assigned to the second-oldest elementary building.

      1990: Americans with Disabilities Act

      Public schools did not legally have to accommodate students with disabilities until the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990. Currently, only one of Collingswood’s elementary schools is fully ADA-accessible.

      2020: COVID-19 pandemic begins; American Rescue Act funds are distributed and then cut off, as inflation rises and school funding remains flat.

      2021: Incoming superintendent Dr. McDowell begins term, raises millions in grant funding to offset flat budget.

      2023: Collingswood School District is over capacity by 204 students

      2024: New Jersey’s flawed funding formula results in budget cuts in school districts across the state.

      YOU ARE HERE!

      September 17, 2024: Bond Referendum Election

      2025: Good Shepherd is purchased; construction begins

      2026: ADA-compliant playgrounds for Tatem and Newbie completed; Stadium construction completed; Zane North renovation completed

      By 2026, Collingswood School District’s total student enrollment is projected to reach 2,314. The All In for Collingswood bond referendum will enable us to not only accommodate those students but provide them with the resources, facilities, and opportunities they deserve.

      If the referendum does not pass, Collingswood will lose our chance to acquire the largest, most modern, and centrally located school building in the district.

      2027: Collingswood Upper Elementary renovation is completed; District realignment begins in September