West Cape May School District

West Cape May School District is a community public school district located in West Cape May in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, that serves students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.[3] In the 2016–17 school year, the district had 98 students, making it the eighth-smallest district in the state.[4][5]

West Cape May Elementary School
West Cape May Elementary School
Address
301 Moore Street
West Cape May
, Cape May County, New Jersey, 08204
Coordinates38.940301°N 74.933559°W / 38.940301; -74.933559
District information
GradesPreK to 6
SuperintendentZachary Palombo
Business administratorJohn Thomas
Schools1
Students and staff
Enrollment88 (as of 2021–22)[1]
Faculty10.3 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio8.6:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupDE
WebsiteWest Cape May Schools
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-6
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$20,75050$18,8919.8%
1Budgetary Cost15,6053813,64914.3%
2Classroom Instruction10,096448,36620.7%
6Support Services2,919522,16135.1%
8Administrative Cost79311,467−45.9%
10Operations & Maintenance1,770411,55214.0%
13Extracurricular Activities272039−30.8%
16Median Teacher Salary52,8781357,437
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-6 districts with any number of students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=59

The district has been a participant in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program.[6]

As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 88 students and 10.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.6:1.[1]

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][9] Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[10]) are Richard M. Teitelman Middle School[11] with 439 students in grades 7 and 8, and Lower Cape May Regional High School[8] 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.[9]

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.[19] The school had an enrollment of 102 students in the 2017-18 school year.[20] It has a capacity of 117.[9]: 17 

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[21][22]

  • Zachary Palombo, superintendent
  • John Thomas, business administrator and board secretary

Board of education

The district's board of education is comprised 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.[23][24][25]

See also

References
  1. District information for West Cape May School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. School Performance Reports for the West Cape May School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 23, 2023.
  4. 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."
  5. 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"
  6. West Cape May School District 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 25, 2017. "The West Cape May School District has been a Choice District since 2011. The New Jersey Interdistrict Public School Choice program provides the opportunity for non-resident students to attend West Cape May Elementary School at no cost to their parents/guardians. The West Cape May School District is comprised of one school, grades Pre-K through sixth with an enrollment of 100 students."
  7. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed October 30, 2014.
  8. Lower Cape May Regional High School, Lower Cape May Regional School District. Accessed March 26, 2023.
  9. 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."
  10. School Data for the Lower Cape May Regional High School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  11. Richard M. Teitelman Middle School, Lower Cape May Regional School District. Accessed March 26, 2023.
  12. New Jersey School Directory for the Lower Cape May Regional School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 26, 2016.
  13. Stump, Brice (1998-01-13). "Who was Charles Chipman?". The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. pp. 11, 12. - Clipping of first page and of second page at Newspapers.com
  14. "Dr. Charles H. Chipman Is Outstanding Man". The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. 1981-02-23. p. 6. - Clipping at Newspapers.com
  15. Jensen, Noma (Winter 1948). "A Survey of Segregation Practices in the New Jersey School System". The Journal of Negro Education. Journal of Negro Education. 17 (1): 84–88. JSTOR 2966093. - CITED: p. 86.
  16. "14 Graduate at W. Cape Elementary". Press of Atlantic City. 1955-06-08. - Seen in preview .
  17. Barlow, Bill (2021-08-21). "Cape May sees big population drop in census, while home prices soar". The Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
  18. Fichter, Jack (2021-06-23). "Cape, West Cape schools will share superintendent" (PDF). Cape May Star and Wave. Vol. 167, no. 25. p. 1.
  19. New Jersey School Directory for Cape May County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  20. School Data for West Cape May School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
  21. Staff Directory, West Cape May School District. Accessed March 26, 2023.
  22. New Jersey School Directory for the West Cape May Elementary School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  23. New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
  24. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the West Camp May School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2018. Accessed January 30, 2020. "The Borough of West Cape May School District (“School District”) is a Type II district located in the County of Cape May, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The Board of Education is comprised of five members elected to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that one or two member’s terms expire each year. The purpose of the School District is to provide educational services for resident students in grades K through 6."
  25. Board Members, West Cape May Elementary School. Accessed March 26, 2023.

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