Above: Gov. Chris Christie is greeted by students with cheers and hugs as he arrives for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new George L. Catrambone Elementary School in Long Branch on Sept. 25. Below: Long Branch Superintendent Michael Salvatore listens as Christie addresses an assembly. GOVERNORS OFFICE/TIM LARSEN Local and state officials, including Gov. Chris Christie, were on hand last week to celebrate the opening of the Long Branch school district’s newest campus.
Superintendent of Schools Michael Salvatore said during the Sept. 25 ribbon cutting for the George L. Catrambone Elementary School in Elberon that the $40.1 million school comes at a time when enrollment has skyrocketed and graduation rates are at a peak.
“Long Branch has grown. As of 10 o’clock this morning, we have the highest enrollment that we have ever seen,” he said. “We are almost 1,000 students larger than we were five years ago.”
He said the district is graduating students at a rate of 93 percent.
The Catrambone School is the latest campus to be upgraded in an initiative that has taken place over the past 15 years. The new facilities have been funded entirely by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA).
The school, located on the site of the former Elberon Elementary School on Park Avenue, has an enrollment of 852 students in prekindergarten through fifth grade.
The facility includes 41 general classrooms, four self-contained special education classrooms, eight small-group instruction rooms, cafeteria with a stage, computer room, gymnasium, media center/library, art room and music room.
As Christie arrived, he walked a pathway lined with students and was greeted by the school band playing the theme song of the movie “Rocky.”
The governor described the state-funded school as a place where the entire community is welcome.
“A school is not only a place where children come to learn. A school is a gathering place for a community,” Christie said. “You vote here, you have meetings here, and you have athletic events here. All of those events are things that bring our community together.” Christie said the Catrambone School represents something special for him.
“This is the first school that was both started and finished on my watch, and I’m proud that it was done here in Long Branch,” he said. “It was two years ago yesterday that I came here to break ground for the start of construction for this new school.
“We wanted to build these schools in a way that would last, and we wanted to build these schools in a way where the people who pay the bills feel good about the investment they are making.”
Salvatore said that, despite several challenges, the school was constructed within budget and in time for the 2014-2015 school year.
“The oversight on this project was tremendous,” he said. “If you want to throw an obstacle out there for a contractor, how about superstorm Sandy happened a month after the groundbreaking? How about one of the worst winters on record?
“And this project was done on time and at cost.”
The event featured several performances by students who performed a song, read a poem to the governor and showed a video presenting the top 10 things they love about their new school.
The school is named after George L. Catrambone, a longtime employee who began as a teacher in the district and ascended to the position of assistant superintendent before retiring in 2009.
Due to the rising enrollment numbers and the addition of the Catrambone School, the district has undergone a restructuring for the 2014-2015 school year.
The changes announced last year include adding kindergarten classes to both the Joseph M. Ferraina Early Childhood Learning Center and the Lenna W. Conrow School, both of which currently educate preschoolers ages 3-4.
District plans also call for the Morris Avenue School to become a third, full-time, early-childhood school.
Next on the district agenda is the refurbishing of the former high school building, which will become an alternate school.
Built more 100 years ago, the West End School is closed. The district is seeking a buyer for the facility.
The SDA has invested more than $267 million toward completed projects in the Long Branch district, including construction of four other district schools funded using SDA monies. These include $27.6 million for the Amerigo A. Anastasia School, $28.5 million for the new Gregory School, $62.2 million for the Long Branch Middle School and $81.2 million for Long Branch High School.
Charles McKenna, CEO of the SDA, said at the ceremony that the new school would benefit students for years to come.
“This is really a great day for the Long Branch community, and it is a great day for the SDA, as well,” he said.
The district has an enrollment of approximately 5,500 students in prekindergarten through 12th grade. The school system educates approximately 1,150 preschool and kindergarten students.
Long Branch is one of the state’s 31 former Abbott districts, which receive increased state funding based on a 1985 court ruling that identified the state’s poorest districts based on poverty and educational inadequacy.