Cooper's Poynt Family School, Camden NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Cooper's Poynt Family School

Cooper's Poynt Family School sits on State Street in Camden, New Jersey, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade as a regular public school within the Camden City School District. The school is part of a district that has undergone its share of change over the years, though publicly reported information about recent district-level shifts is sparse enough that it would be guesswork to describe them.

Camden itself is a small post-industrial city directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, linked by the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Once a manufacturing powerhouse built by RCA Victor, Campbell Soup, and New York Shipbuilding, the city lost most of that industrial base by the late 20th century. In recent decades Camden has turned toward an economy centered on healthcare and education, with institutions like Cooper University Hospital and Rutgers University–Camden now accounting for roughly half of total employment, according to what is publicly reported. The city retains a dense urban fabric with over 20 neighborhoods, a mix of residential streets and institutional campuses, and a redeveloped waterfront district. Poverty remains significant, and median household income is well below state and national benchmarks. The housing market reflects that reality: home values in the ZIP code covering this area are in the lower range for the region, and rents are modest compared to the broader county or state.

Cooper's Poynt Family School enrolls a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with a very small number of students from other racial backgrounds. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, consistent with the economic profile of the surrounding community. The school does not report data on the share of students with individualized education programs or English learner status, so a family wanting to understand special education supports or language services would need to ask the school directly.

State testing results are available for grades three through eight in English language arts and math, and for grades five and eight in science. Across all tested grades and subjects, proficiency rates are low. In third grade, about a quarter of students met the proficiency threshold in ELA, and a bit more than a third did so in math. From fourth grade onward, proficiency rates drop sharply, reaching zero in fourth-grade math and ELA, single-digit figures in several other grade-level tests, and only a small handful of students scoring proficient in science. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Camden County. A parent looking at these results would want to discuss with the school what academic interventions and supports are in place.

Because Cooper's Poynt ends at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, and course access were not available in the information provided. That means a full picture of the school environment, including how many students are chronically absent or how experienced the teaching staff is, is not accessible from these sources.

What this school offers is a neighborhood-based education from pre-K through middle school in a city that has seen significant redevelopment efforts on its waterfront but still contends with the effects of long-term economic decline. The school's academic results are a clear soft spot, and any family considering it would be wise to visit, talk to staff, and learn about specific programs or initiatives aimed at strengthening student achievement. The school's name includes "Family School," which may signal an emphasis on community connection, but the available data does not elaborate on what that means in practice. For families who prioritize proximity and a familiar setting within Camden, Cooper's Poynt is a direct option. For those weighing academic outcomes as a primary factor, the performance numbers are a real concern.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 21% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 14% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 46 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 8% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 5% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 710%

School 10% · District 7% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 15% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 26% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 55 pts below state median · ▼ 50 pts below county median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 11% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 73%

School 3% · District 11% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 54 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 9% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 58 pts below state median · ▼ 51 pts below county median

Science

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 6% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolCamden City School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.