The Partnership

Educating Camden’s Children

Catholic Partnership Schools (The Partnership) was established in 2008, and was formally recognized 501 (c)(3) in 2010. The Camden initiative – prompted by the imminent threat of additional school closures in a city that couldn’t afford them – is based on extensive research and analysis about how best to retain Catholic education’s cultural and academic strengths, and best practices.

The Partnership’s mission is to sustain safe and nurturing schools that inspire and prepare each of its students for rigorous, college preparatory, or technical high schools. The model represents a new approach to Catholic urban education. Five once-separate, and parish-based elementary schools are now administered by a single non-profit entity that centralizes financial, academic and operational management and oversight. In 2020, the Saint Anthony of Padua School became the Community Learning Campus at St. Anthony.

Their Future is Not Yet Written

The goal is simple – Catholic Partnership schools want to provide the children of Camden and its surrounding areas with an excellent Catholic education in a safe and nurturing environment-one that is within the means of all families.

The four CPS schools and the Community Learning Campus at St. Anthony’s are anchors of stability for their respective communities – many for almost 100 years. Catholic Partnership Schools provide an oasis of hope in an economic and cultural desert for children and their families. The goal of the Partnership is to develop the already good schools into great schools. It is our aim to cultivate schools that will have financial stability, cutting-edge educational resources and practices, and a strong business model that will sustain the Catholic Partnership schools for decades to come. Children at these schools deserve an excellent education that helps them achieve a future of great promise.