Union County College has campuses in Cranford, Elizabeth, Scotch Plains and Plainfield. The community college offers associate degrees and certificates in over 90 programs. Adult education is offered in subjects ranging from medical billing to real estate sales. In addition, a college for kids program welcomes children eager to get a head start on experiencing campus life. A fitness center, outdoor tennis court and observatory are highlights.
Rutgers School of Law at Newark provides professional legal education services to a student body of more than 800. It has a number of student-run organizations, including The Art Law Society, Association of Black Law Students, Criminal Law Society, Federalist Society, Human Rights Forum and more. The campus houses the Golden Dome Athletic Center, a facility with basketball courts, a 25-yard swimming pool, a 7,000-square-foot fitness center, two racquetball courts and a dance/exercise studio. There are a number of pro bono student projects at Rutgers School of Law, including Citizenship Rutgers, Veterans' Assistance Project, Street Law and the Rutgers-Newark Bankruptcy Project.
RISE Academy is a TEAM School, part of a network run by KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) in Newark. Serving African-American and Latino students in low-income communities, the school aims to prove that students of all backgrounds can succeed academically. Some 85 percent of the students qualify for free or subsidized school lunches and 14 percent have special needs. The school prides itself on working with students who start out below grade level in reading and math, but after a few years are achieving at above-average levels compared to their peers in Newark and across New Jersey. Ninety percent of the students go on to college.
Founded in 1933, the Adult School offers classes ranging from practical to imaginative. They have single and multiple session classes. One example of a previous practical class was the five-session class, "Basic Accounting for Non-finance People." Previous creative classes include "Mixed Media and Illustrative Drawing" and "Water Color Painting." They also have multiple language classes including Spanish, French, Italian and more.
Most classes are held at Columbia High School (CHS) and South Orange Middle School. The main office is in the A-wing of CHS. Some art classes are held at private studios in South Orange and Maplewood but they are open to people from all over the region.
There are over 150 classes in the spring, summer and fall for adults and teens 14 and up.
The other two major programs of the Adult School are:
* A free ESL and GED-prep program. Classes are held at CHS and the Hilton Branch of the Maplewood Library. Five hundred people from 45 countries typically enroll.
* A four-week children's camp is offered each summer. Staff members are district teachers who offer creative and academic enrichment courses. Financial aid is available.
Seton Hall Law School offers programs in corporate, international, intellectual property, public interest, governmental, health and pharmaceutical law. One of the top-ranked law schools in the U.S, it is headed by dean Patrick E. Hobbs.
Located in the heart of Newark, University Heights Charter School is an elementary school that offers education for grades K-5. It offers educational development services and a range of academic courses in language arts, science, history, mathematics and English among others. The school is guided by REACH core virtues, which stands for Respect-Excellence-Accountability-Caring-Honesty.
Dana Marchionne has been practicing and teaching Italian for more than 10 years. With her business, Learn Italian Hoboken, she offers courses and private beginning and intermediate lessons to adults and kids.
Serving students from preschool through grade 12 on two campuses, Golda Och Academy is one of more than 70 Jewish Day Schools in the United States and Canada affiliated with the United Synagogue of America and named after the founder of Conservative Judaism. SSDSEU was founded in September 1965.
The Lower School is located at the Irving Laurie Building, 122 Gregory Avenue. The Upper School, which comprises middle and high school, is at the Eric F. Ross Campus on Pleasant Valley Way. Each campus has a full-time security guard during school hours.
The oldest Montessori School in New Jersey, the Christopher Academy was founded in 1963. Featuring homelike classrooms and projects designed to each child's learning style, the academy enrolls students in the early childhood grades.
Graduates of the Christopher Academy routinely attend the finest private schools in the area, along with neighborhood public schools in Westfield and surrounding communities. Each lead teacher in the school has a college degree and is Montessori-certified, with many holding advanced degrees. The school sponsors a summer program on the Westfield campus and a summer day camp in Scotch Plains.