UHCS - JUNIOR HIGH

Junior High School Campus 570 Broad St. 2nd Fl. Newark, NJ 07102

Dr. Martin Dickerson, Principal
Dr. Karleen Kemp, Vice Principal
January 3, 2022

Hello Present & Potential Parents & Students,
Happy New Year to everyone. 2022! We have made it to a new calendar year. I am Martin Dickerson the Junior High School principal at your service. This is my second year serving as the building leader. Let me share with you a little about University Heights Charter School. It opened 15 years ago under the sponsorship of Bethany Baptist Church in the heart of the city of Newark. The Junior High was placed in St. Lucy’s Catholic Church’s school at 113 Seventh Ave. in north Newark. Under the leadership of CEO Dr. Christy Oliver, the Junior High and central office recently moved to our current location at 570 Broad St in beautiful downtown Newark right across the street from both the Newark Museum and The Public Library, two great educational institutions. Because of Dr. Oliver elective classes were added to the school’s master schedule. We now offer French, Art, Dance and Music to the student class options and we secured gymnasium space from the Newark YMWCA so that our learners can take Physical Education.

Despite having in person classes derailed for most of last year due to the outbreak of the coronavirus we moved forward with an innovative remote model utilizing Zoom and Google classroom as platforms for delivering student content and instruction to our most valuable commodity. We were able to have online parent meetings, student report card conferences as well as a Black History Month major production and a virtual Christmas play. When we re-entered the building in April with one marking period remaining in the school year most parents kept their children home for safety reasons. We pushed forward and welcomed back the few students who returned with music and a book fair. We were also able to celebrate our eighth graders with an outdoor graduation ceremony that was simply beautiful.
Fast forward to the 2021-22 school year; we returned in masse to our new building with a new modern facility, air conditioned with several new staff members, school counselor and added a vice principal. All of this has allowed me to do my job more efficiently by getting into the classrooms more, meet with students and arrange additional activities for their benefit. I am excited about what the future holds for UHCS Junior High moving forward. Many of our graduates have and will continue to move on to some of the top high schools in our city with their eyes looking around the corner at colleges and universities.

I would love for you to be part of this educational institution that truly puts students first and is a no nonsense school. Dr. Oliver is an experienced school leader and I have over 35 years of experience at every level and a proud product of the Newark Public Schools. Feel free to contact me or any school personnel if you desire more information about UHCSJHS. It will be my pleasure to answer your questions/ inquiries about our school. Thank you for visiting our website.

Cordially,

Dr. Martin Dickerson, Principal