Camden City School Districts' summer classes, free meals program to benefit thousands of students
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- Camden City Schools launched its summer classes and free meals programs Wednesday morning, which are expected to benefit thousands of students.
About 750 students are participating in academic programming and credit recovery classes, including 15-year-old Jaya Sanders, who missed time in the classroom last school year for health reasons.
"I'm kind of scared," Sanders said about being back in the classroom. "I'm kind of nervous."
She has an advocate in biology teacher Tracy Freeman.
"I love Dr. Freeman. That's my girl. She's the best teacher here. She needs a raise," Sanders said. "If it wasn't for her, I don't even think I would be at this school. I would've left and went to a different school."
Freeman said it's critical to capture students' attention during summer classes.
"We try to do a lot of hands-on activities during the summer," Freeman said. "They will be using an online program, but we're going to implement different activities to capture their interests."
Camden City Schools also launched its free meals program Wednesday, which is expected to serve breakfast and lunch to about 4,000 students this summer.
"Summer, we always think that schools are shut down and resources go away," Arlethia Brown, who runs the district's nutrition program, said. "But here in Camden, resources stay in place."