Federal Reserve officials tour Camden charter school
Phaedra TrethanCAMDEN — The students were impressive, even for Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, who's used to LEAP Academy kids exceeding expectations.
During a Friday morning visit by Richard Clarida, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Philadelphia Fed president Patrick Harker, students showed off their work at LEAP's Fab Lab, a short and cute name for a fabrication laboratory where they learn how to write code, use 3D printers, build machines, and create their own paths to high-tech careers.
The visit was part of Fed Listens, a series of sessions taking place nationwide to bridge the gap between setting macroeconomic monetary policy and the real-world, community impacts of the decisions made by Fed policymakers.
"Data is backward," explained Harker in a phone interview with the Courier-Post ahead of his visit to LEAP Academy. "It's what already happened. So we need to look at what is going to happen, so that we can determine how to get workers the jobs they need, and for employers to find the employees who are qualified to do those jobs.
"We're at an unprecedented period in our economic history: We have more job openings than we have people seeking work," he noted. "But we have to make sure people have access to the opportunities out here; this is a way to help communities think creatively about how they can meet the needs of companies and residents."
The visits, he added, are a way to reach out to communities to see how Fed policies are working and impacting everyday lives.
"We think of the economy as this homogeneous thing, but it's really many things spread across diverse communities," said Harker, a Gloucester City native with family roots in Camden.
The Fed, the nonpartisan central bank that sets national economic policies, saw Camden as a post-industrial city trying to reset itself after decades of economic stagnation.
"There is a great conversation going on about Camden and labor force participation, and what it means to connect citizens to economic growth," he said.
"The nature of work is changing fundamentally and the skills workers need are really different than they were even 10 years ago," he added.
At LEAP Academy, students are learning some of those skills, Bonilla-Santiago explained to her visitors. The charter school, which opened in 1997 and now serves about 2,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, works in partnership with Rutgers–Camden to offer early childhood education through college-prep courses and even early college courses for its upperclassmen.
On this day, Bonilla-Santiago and Rutgers–Camden Chancellor Phoebe Haddon talked to Harker and Clarida about the university-charter school partnership and how both institutions have worked to not only transform education in the city but also to transform Cooper Street from a neglected stretch of dilapidated but historically significant buildings into a thriving corridor, filling renovated former banks and homes with children bearing LEAP uniforms and the hopes of their parents and teachers.
As teacher Christopher McCrum watched, 9th grader Alexis Aguilar showed off a computer game he'd programmed himself. Jessica Phuong, 15, and Hao Nguyen, 14, showed a whiteboard where they'd sketched out ways to make their home city of Camden a better place. Hung Nguyen, 17, showed drones he and his classmates fashioned from parts salvaged from trash around the city and with parts they made on a 3D printer donated by American Water. Wilderson Villar, a sophomore, played "Stand by Me" on a PVC-pipe instrument he made, while Jasmin Mendez, 15, and Cristal Pereira, 14, showed a Spiderman web shooter they created with Silly String.
Clairda called the students "inspiring," and both he and Harker were clearly impressed with their work.
"These students have shown real achievements, and it's great to see the ways they're working to transform their community," Clarida added.
Bonilla-Santiago, who founded the school and has overseen its expansion along Cooper Street, expressed pride, but not surprise, at her students' creativity and sense of innovation.
"They are amazing," she said. "I know they've been working hard every day on these projects.
"The possibilities for them are endless."
Phaedra Trethan: @CP_Phaedra; 856-486-2417; ptrethan@gannettnj.com