By: Michelle Jones, Follow South Jersey Corresponding Writer
SALEM, N.J. – John Fenwick Academy holds one of Salem’s best kept secrets, all while being one of Salem’s greatest assets: principal Syeda Carter, and once you’ve met her, you will never forget her.
Carter is dynamic, engaging, passionate, and mission minded. As John Fenwick Academy’s first African American principal, Carter has made quite a mark on the school, the district, and on the city of Salem.
Having grown up in Newark, NJ. and going through the children protective services system, Carter knows all too well the impact teachers can have on the lives of their students.
Carter explained that while she had no female role models at home, her principal and teachers helped her throughout her life offering her guidance and encouragement along the way. Carter said that she knew she wanted to be a principal as early as the third grade, as she shared memories of her own school principal with a glimmer in her eye.
After getting married, Carter moved to Salem and has spent her entire career in the Salem City School District. She started as a substitute teacher, then a paraprofessional, a middle school English teacher, to vice principal of the middle school, and finally working her way to become the first African American principal of John Fenwick Academy. Carter has been in this role for the past 13 years.
Starting as principal however came with its challenges. Carter refused to settle for anything less than excellence and set the bar very high for teachers, students, and parents alike. And while change is hard, it has had its rewards.
Carter that she is most proud of the school’s reading gains over her tenure. When Carter started as principal in 2010, reading levels were extremely low. In fact, in 2013 only 40% of her second grade students were at or above reading on grade level. In 2023 almost 90% of the second grade students met or exceeded grade level expectations. That is quite a remarkable jump, especially when NJ schools have seen a decline in performance since the pandemic. In fact, it is such an accomplishment, her work in the school has been published in a professional educational journal The Learning Professional: The Learning Forward Journal June 2024 Vol 45, No.3.
When Carter talked about the students and families of the school, her expression went from serious to one full of joy.
“I love their resilience and how these families care for their children,” she said with a smile.
As a community that lacks steady transportation, just getting students to school is a challenge, one that Carter is meeting head on. She is determined to educate each child in her district and offer the parents help with getting them in the classrooms.
Through attendance incentives, such as bike giveaways, parent celebrations, family nights, and basket giveaways, the school is encouraging students and families alike to meet the challenges they face head on and come to school regularly.
Not only does the school offer incentives under Carter, but she has met basic needs of students as well, such as coat giveaways, laundering clothes in the building, encouraging the arts, elevating excellent students to being ambassadors, and helping families obtain the needed documents to have their children attend school.
Carter is truly a force to be reckoned with. Her passion, drive, and love of her calling are more than evident and it shows. She created a private school setting that offers the highest levels of education in a public school setting.
Salem City owes Carter a huge, heartfelt thank you for all she has done for the literally hundreds of lives she has touched over the years.
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