Plainfield's new $60 million school ready to welcome students

Cheryl Makin, MyCentralJersey.com
·1 min read

PLAINFIELD – The community joined longtime civil rights activists Charles and Anna Booker last week to mark the opening of their namesake.

School district leaders, students, state and local officials and members of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority helped cut the ribbon Wednesday on Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School which will open in September.

The $59.4 million three-story, 120,000-square-foot school will house up to 840 students in grades K-5.

The school, which replaces Woodland Elementary School, had its opening delayed by a year because of supply chain issues. The project broke ground in July 2021.

With Charles and Anna Booker looking on, the ribbon was cut Wednesday on the school in Plainfield named for them.
With Charles and Anna Booker looking on, the ribbon was cut Wednesday on the school in Plainfield named for them.

The Bookers have been involved in community organizing and advocating in Plainfield their entire lives.

Born and raised in the city, Charles, an Army veteran, and Anna, the first African American teacher in Metuchen, brought a lawsuit against the Plainfield Board of Education in 1965 after several attempts failed to correct the imbalance in education for Black students in the district.

Anna Booker said the books were outdated, the education was inferior, and the children were feeling neglected by their schools. With the help of the NAACP and its lead litigator Robert L. Carter, the Bookers sued and won.

The case, Charles B. Booker v. The Board of Education of the City of Plainfield, was decided on June 28, 1965. The suit changed how the students were placed in schools and how funding was allocated. It also changed how board members were chosen.

Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School has 41 classrooms, an art room, a vocal music room, an instrumental music room, a technology lab, a science demonstration room, a computer lab, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, a media center, a playground and a basketball court.
Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School has 41 classrooms, an art room, a vocal music room, an instrumental music room, a technology lab, a science demonstration room, a computer lab, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, a media center, a playground and a basketball court.

The SDA has invested more than $136 million in completed projects in the city, including the total cost of Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School.

email: cmakin@gannettnj.com

Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School in Plainfield NJ opens