LEAP Academy University Charter School

LEAP (Leadership, Education, and Partnership) Academy University Charter School is a charter school that serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grades from Camden, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school operates under the terms of a charter granted by the New Jersey Department of Education. Founded in 1997, the school is split into three divisions, a K-6 lower school, a 7-12 upper school and a STEM high school for grades 9-12.^[3]

LEAP Academy University Charter School
Leap Academy University Charter School in 2011
Address
549 Cooper Street (Upper) 639 Cooper Street (Lower) Camden , Camden County , New Jersey 08105 United States
Coordinates	39.945904°N 75.094302°W / 39.945904; -75.094302
Information
Type	Charter school
Established	1997
NCES School ID	340007800487[1]
Faculty	102.0 FTEs[1]
Grades	K–12
Enrollment	1,553 (as of 2023–24)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	15.2:1[1]
Color(s)	Navy Blue[2]
Team name	Lancers[2]
Website	www.leapacademycharter.org

As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,553 students and 102.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.2:1. There were 1,086 students (69.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 91 (5.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.^[1]

History

Based on an idea by Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, the school was one of the initial group of 16 statewide granted a charter by the New Jersey Department of Education and was the only school in South Jersey to be granted a charter.^[4] The school opened in September 1997 in temporary facilities with 324 students in grades K-5, who had been selected by lottery from 500 applications submitted.^[5]

The school moved to its permanent location on Cooper Street in 1999 and graduated its first eighth-grade class in July 2001, by which time the school had an enrollment of 500 students in grades K-8. The school opened for grades 9-12 with a total high school enrollment of 216 students for the 2001-02 school year under the terms of a second charter.^[6]

• 
  Gloria Bonilla-Santiago with students in 2011
• 
  Leap Academy University Charter School in 2011
• 
  Leap Academy University Charter School in 2011
• 
  Leap Academy University Charter School in 2011
• 
  Leap Academy University Charter School in 2011
• 
  Leap Academy University Charter School in 2011

Awards, recognition and rankings

The school was the 213th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools".^[7]

Athletics

The LEAP Academy Lions^[2] sports programs are overseen by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.^[8] The school is not affiliated with a league or conference.^[9] With 350 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.^[10]

Administration

Core administration are^[11]

• Early Learning Academy - Stephanie Rogers, Director
• Lower Elementary - Shanell Hartman, Principal
• Upper Elementary/Intermediate - Jovita Veguilla, Principal
• High School - Dana Rivas, Principal