Paterson Board of Education plans to open all-boys high school and avoid past mistakes

Paterson Board of Education building, photographed on Tuesday, July 18, 2017.

The Board of Education has decided to create an all-boys high school in Paterson, and officials say they will try to avoid the mistakes that marred the early years of a similar initiative for younger students.

Young Men’s High School would open its doors to students in September 2023 after district officials spend a year planning its operation, under a resolution adopted by the Board of Education last week. The school would use the building on Danforth Avenue that currently houses School 29, officials said.

“Male students in an all-boys high school will not feel pressure to conform or to be judged by stereotyped versions of ‘masculinity,’ ” said the board resolution approving the creation of the school.

Board President Kenneth Simmons said the school most likely would have just ninth graders in its first year, and then expand one grade per year after that, until it becomes a full, four-year high school with about 180 students.

Paterson education advocate Rosie Grant praised the plan but offered words of caution.

“It will be great if it’s done well,” said Grant, executive director of the Paterson Education Fund nonprofit group. “But I don’t want to see another trial-and-error situation. It’s important they consider the history and look at what works and what does not work.”

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In 2015, Paterson launched an all-boys elementary school that suffered from various problems, including high staff turnover. Within three years, it became one of the lowest-performing schools in New Jersey.

But over the past several years, the boys’ elementary school has grown into the success the district had hoped for, officials said. Simmons credited Principal Marc Medley and Assistant Superintendent Cicely Warren for the school’s improvement.

Board member Emanuel Capers said part of the change at the boys’ elementary school came from assigning educators there who were committed to the philosophy of an all-male academic environment.

“It has to be run like any other specialty school,” said Capers, who attended the all-male Don Bosco Prep high school in Paterson, which shut down years ago.

Preliminary projections are that the new high school would have about 32 staff members and a $3 million annual budget, said district spokesman Paul Brubaker. The building will need about $750,000 worth of renovations before the high school relocates there.

Talena Queen’s son used to attend the all-boys elementary school in Paterson. She said district officials back then said they eventually would expand the single-gender program to the high school level.

“It seems to me that they’re keeping a promise,” Queen said.

Eight years ago, district officials also talked about creating a girls-only school in Paterson. Board members said that initiative has been stalled by the early problems at the all-boys school.

“Once the all-boys high school is open, an all-girls elementary school will be discussed,” Brubaker said.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ planning all-boys high school for next year