Public Charter School In Camden Celebrates Milestone

CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- A Camden charter school is marking 20 years of operation with a lot to brag about.

The LEAP Academy University Charter School has become so popular, it has to hold an annual lottery to decide who gets in on the ground level.

More than 1,800 students attend pre-school through high school programs there. Over 900 have completed the rigorous program, and every one of them has gone on to college, 100 percent.

"It's a challenge because you're changing habits," Board Chair Gloria Bonilla-Santiago told KYW Newsradio. "You're changing conditions and you're saying there's no excuses here. So we run it very, very tight and I think that's the difference."

She'd like to expand beyond their downtown Camden campus and hopes whoever becomes New Jersey's next governor will allow that to happen.