UrbanPromise Academy

UrbanPromise Academy is a private, Christian high school that fulfills the needs of students who have not met their academic potential in traditional school settings and often enter two to three grade levels below national standards.

Founded in 1997, the Academy offers Camden youth a unique schooling opportunity with a low teacher to student ratio, a family-style learning environment, an emphasis on community service, and experiential and expeditionary learning. In a city with graduation rates between 50% and 70%, UrbanPromise Academy sees an 87% graduation rate with 87% of graduates transitioning to college (78%) or a vocational training program (9%). Extracurricular opportunities include the school’s Elite Cycling Team, UrbanTrekkers, Urban BoatWorks, and Students In Action (SIA).
 

Despite living in a city with graduation rates peaking at 70%, the UrbanPromise Academy sees 87% of students graduate with the vast majority transitioning to college.

Low teacher-to-student ratios are key to Academy students' success. Research demonstrates that among students with a low probability of attending college, small class sizes increase college attendance by more than 5 percentage points.

Experiential and expeditionary learning supplement classroom material at UrbanPromise Academy. Around 25% of student learning occurs outside the classroom.

From Our Blog...

Students build a plane and maybe a flight path - Philadelphia Inquirer

By Kevin Riordan, Philadelphia Inquirer 

"Those are the wing skins," Ira Weissman says, pointing to a short, sleek stack of pearly aluminum panels. "I brought them over here this morning in my Prius."

We're in the basement at Camden's Urban Promise Academy, where Weissman and...

IN THE NEWS: Medford bike ride gets city kids in touch with nature

By Andy McNeil, Courier Post
Sunday, May 5, 2013

MEDFORD — The first 10 miles of the eighth annual Pedal for Promise bike ride held Saturday in Burlington County was a struggle for Camden teen Faith Kroma.

“My breathing was really heavy, my bike seat was too low and my knees started hurting,” the...

IN THE NEWS: Clearview, Camden students work to clean up park that contains graves of Civil War veterans


Senior Alexandra Gonzalez, from The Urban Promise Academy in Camden, uses a toothbrush to clear dirt away from letters on a gravestone at Johnson Cemetery Park in Camden, Friday, April 26, 2013. With her is freshman Brandon Benitez. The Urban Promise Academy in partnership with Clearview and Voorhees High Schools clean up Johnson Cemetery Park in Camden, Friday,...