U.S. Education Secretary makes a visit to Camden High to cap weeklong bus tour

When U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and an entourage stepped into her senior seminar class at Camden High School, student Shania Edmondson barely looked up from her presentation.

Cardona took a front-row seat and listened closely as Edmondson and three other students shared with their classmates the military as a possible option after high school. Cardona praised Edmondson for staying focused and applauded the “12+” program that helps Camden students figure out life after high school.

“We want to see this across the country,” Cardona said. “Programs like this are opening doors.”

The district received a $370,000 grant from the Camden Education Fund, a nonprofit that is working to improve the city’s troubled public education system, to set up “PLUS” centers at Camden High and Eastside High School.