Learning Community Charter School Outperforms State In Reading, Math

Press release from Learning Community Charter School:

Feb. 16, 2023

Results are in for the 2022 New Jersey Student Learning Assessment (NJSLA) after a three-year stasis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Learning Community Charter School (LCCS) is a top performer when compared with State averages. The public charter school outperformed the state by 20 points in Reading and 10 points in Math; and, in ELA, LCCS students performed 27.3% higher than the New Jersey State average, according to the NJSLA scores.

One of LCCS’s success factors during the COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed to its preparedness. School administrators examined remote instruction plans of other institutions in order to determine the most appropriate next steps. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, LCCS instituted a Friday program where students who needed the most help would come to school in-person to receive academic and social support. In a sense, LCCS was divided into more than one school in order to meet the needs of its community. According to Colin Hogan, Head of School at LCCS, “Our goal was to make sure that every student and family had the academic, logistical, and social support needed to make it through the pandemic without losing ground academically.”

LCCS began learning recovery through a variety of initiatives, which included social and emotional support for students. Several actions were taken in order to ensure that students were caught-up post-pandemic, and to accelerate learning afterwards as well. “Learning Community Charter School is a prime example of how public charter schools pivoted to meet the needs of students and their families over the last several years,” said Harry Lee, CEO of the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association (NJPCSA). “Families choose to attend LCCS due to the school’s dedicated teachers and staff and these results demonstrate that public charter schools are implementing key programs to accelerate learning recovery throughout NJ.”

In March of 2020, LCCS instituted an on-demand tutoring program, utilizing undergraduate interns from New Jersey City University and its teachers to run after school and summer tutoring programs. After each morning class period, all students were able to participate in small group tutoring sessions in the afternoons. Currently, LCCS offers a before and after school tutoring and homework support program for students. It is supervised by LCCS teachers and is staffed by NJCU teacher interns. This program is intended to allow students to come and receive the extra time they need on their homework assignments, to work on group projects, to have access to the internet/computers/printer, to get extra math help, and to help with organizational skills.

According to an LCCS parent, during the COVID-19 pandemic, “the school made sure to never forget the fun. LCCS took its assemblies online and conducted its “Aladdin” school play completely virtual. Did it have a magic carpet ride? It certainly did.” Outside of the classroom, LCCS extracurricular activities provide students with academic and social support. The school’s academically oriented and teacher-led clubs include Adventure Club, Pre-Teen Book Club, National Junior Honor Society, Math Club, Student Council, among many others.

When compared with traditional and non-traditional public schools, the Learning Community Charter School stands out as a model of resistance to the loss of learning outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to being a steadfast leader in cultivating substantial academic achievements. Through remote learning, content tutoring and consistent regular classes, LCCS provided students with the support needed to excel throughout the pandemic and managed to accelerate their learning during in person instruction.

For more information on LCCS, visit www.lccsnj.org.

This press release was produced by Learning Community Charter School. The views expressed here are the author's own.