Original Research by School Decision on Next Generation Academy
Next Generation Academy is a public charter school in Guilford County serving kindergarten through seventh grade. The enrollment is small, around four hundred students, distributed relatively evenly across the primary grades with somewhat smaller cohorts in middle school. The student body is predominantly Black, with a meaningful share of students who identify as multiracial, smaller numbers of Hispanic students, and very few white or Asian students. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and on special populations such as English learners and students with IEPs were not available.
The school's defining feature is its adoption of the Woz ED curriculum, a STEM pathway program founded by Steve Wozniak. Next Generation Academy became the nation's first Woz ED Pathway School of Distinction in 2021, embedding all ten Woz ED pathways—coding, drones, cybersecurity, engineering, robotics, AI, animation, data analysis, AR/VR, and mobile development—into its core instruction. In the early grades, K through 4, the Woz ED curriculum is integrated across subjects. In grades 5 through 7, students move into an advanced STEM program that deepens work in robotics, coding, and data science. This is not a separate club or elective track; it is the school's primary academic structure. For families specifically drawn to a STEM-centered, project-based pedagogy with real hands-on technology work from kindergarten onward, this school is built for that choice.
The school expanded its grade span from K-4 in 2021 to K-7 by adding one grade each year, and that continuity is now stable. Parents enrolling a kindergartner can expect their child to remain at the school through seventh grade without needing to transfer to a different middle school, a practical advantage for families seeking a stable pathway.
State assessment data was not available, so proficiency results cannot be reported. A four-year graduation rate does not apply because the school does not serve high school grades. Among Guilford County's districts, Next Generation Academy's chronic absenteeism rate sits slightly above the county median. Per-pupil spending is in the middle-to-upper range compared to other county districts, reflecting the school's investment in its technology and STEM infrastructure.
The school is free and open to all students in Guilford County. Whether the Woz ED model and its intensive focus on computer science, engineering, and digital pathways align with a family's vision for elementary and middle school education is the core consideration. For families who value early exposure to coding, maker culture, and applied STEM, this school offers a coherent and deliberate pathway built around those strengths.
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