Countdown to NJASK Testing!

The months of April and May are very important months in the lives of your children and in the life of our school. Important State mandated NJASK tests will be administered to students in grades 5-8 beginning two weeks after we return from Spring vacation. In order to build your children’s motivation and increase their level of preparedness and confidence in taking the tests, we have implemented a school wide 20–Day Countdown to Success. Each day, teachers lead presentations and activities that focus on math and language arts literacy skills. Students are encouraged to take part in competitions during Morning Assembly and homeroom periods that give them the opportunity to strengthen their skills as well as win prizes for their participation in critical thinking and brain power building challenges.

YOU can help support us as we work to prepare your children for these tests by doing the following:
Ensure that your child arrives to school on time by 8:00 am, attends school every day, and stays in school until the designated dismissal time.

Ensure that your child completes quality homework assignments EVERY night.
Ensure that your child takes advantage of extra help and tutoring opportunities provided by his/her teachers. Make attendance at PEP a priority!
Support the school in reinforcing that your child follows all school rules, respects our teachers and does his/her part to maintain a focused and productive learning environment.

NJASK for 7th and 8th graders: April 27th, April 28th, April 29th, and April 30th

NJASK for 5th and 6th graders: May 3rd, May 4th, May 5th and May 6th

Mentoring Program

When Mercedes Cotchery first visited Pride Academy Charter School, she was just a generous and kind-hearted volunteer from The Life Christian Church in West Orange who heard about our school and wanted to help out. Pride Academy later learned that Mrs. Cotchery was the wife of Jerricho Cotchery, wide-receiver of the New York Jets and the Board Chair and Executive Director of The Cotchery Foundation. We soon also learned that Mrs. Cotchery is a dynamic person with a real passion and gift for connecting with young people.

Her relationship with Pride Academy and its students began with the creation of a Girls’ Mentoring Group. Mrs. Cotchery developed her own curriculum to address some of the issues and challenges facing young women today. Mrs. Cotchery provided lunch for the girls during their weekly meetings where they shared and discussed topics like self-esteem, healthy relationships, goals, and life after high school. The Girls’ Mentoring Group was a great success, and Mrs. Cotchery soon set out to expand the program for the 2009-2010 academic year.

This year, The Cotchery Foundation made a greater commitment to the Pride Academy community. Jerricho and Mercedes Cotchery established The Cotchery Foundation to benefit inner city youth in January of 2007. The foundation's mission is to inspire children to conceive and achieve goals by providing programs and services designed to enhance their futures. The Cotchery’s have set out to help children understand that ordinary people can do extraordinary things if they have the desire and passion. To this end, The Cotchery Foundation has funded the expansion of the mentoring program to mentor all Pride Academy students in grades seven and eight using the RESH 180 Program. The RESH 180 Program is a course designed to inspire students to maximize their purpose in life through goal setting and planning.

Mercedes Cotchery trained community leaders to serve as mentors to Pride Academy students and help them reach their true potential. Mentor, Jared Winley, stated, “While growing up I lacked direction and was unaware of what existed outside of my everyday life. If it was not for people like James Flaherty who convinced me to attend college or Joe Browne who challenged me to change my thinking, as well as, my approach to professionalism there is no telling where my life would be right now.”

Pride students look forward to their weekly meeting and have learned and grown from the Cotchery Mentoring Program. However, the students are not the only ones learning! Mentor, Jaqueline Bruno, powerfully sums up her experience in the following words: “Although this class has been about me mentoring the students, I must admit that I have learned just as much from them. I have learned that it's just as important to be able to react positively as it is to plan. Each student has made a difference in my life and I am honored to know each and every one of them. They are the future and I am blessed to be a small part of their big journey.”

by Ms Dumenigo

Ms Cenac Named Charter School Teacher of the Year!

We are very proud to share that Ms Jodi Cenac (Dean of Academics and 7th/8th grade Science Teacher) has been selected as New Jersey Charter School Teacher of the Year!

Ms Cenac was presented with her award by Carlos Lejnieks, Chairman of the NJCSA Board of Trustees (left), and Dawood Farahi, Kean University President (right), at the Annual NJCSA Conference Gala in Long Branch on March 18th, 2010. 

During the award ceremony, Ms Cenac gave an inspiring acceptance speech that showcased her admiration for and love of our Pride Family of students, parents, and staff. This is a wonderful tribute to Ms Cenac's excellence, as well as to the strong professional learning community that we continue to build here at Pride Academy.

Ms Cenac is in her seventh year of teaching and is in her second full year at Pride Academy. Ms Cenac was inspired to become a teacher after reading Kozol's Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools, a classic work on educational inequality. She is motivated by the desire to help all children achieve to their potential and to help them believe in themselves. Her career has been dedicated to education in urban settings.

Ms Cenac earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in education from Seton Hall University. She received her initial training through Teach for America, serving initially at an elementary school in Paterson.

Homework Accountability Begins This Week

Please support our focus on expecting and encouraging your children to complete EXCELLENT QUALITY and COMPLETE homework EVERY NIGHT. Students who do not meet this expectation in the core subjects of math and language arts homework will be required to attend after school accountability on the day that their homework assignments are missed or incomplete. Accountability will run from 4pm-5pm and will take precedence over participation in all other after school activities and catching the East Orange and Orange district buses.

Pride Girls are Basketball Champions!

On Friday, March 19th, our girls' basketball team WON the Charter School League Championship game, cheered on to victory by our energetic and talented cheerleader squad! Our girls played valiantly, skillfully, and as a team, united with determination and PRIDE! Thank you to all parents who have supported our athletic program this season and who came out to support and cheer on our team and cheerleaders as they have honed their skills and grown as a powerful TEAM.

Pride Point Guard, Tia Taylor, was named Most Valuable Player for her perseverance, team spirit, and exceptional skill.