The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in English language arts. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on The Learning Community Charter School
The Learning Community Charter School operates as a single-school district serving prekindergarten through eighth grade in Hudson County, New Jersey. Because it is a charter school contained entirely within one building, the district and the school are the same entity. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. With an enrollment that is moderate for a PK-through-8 school, the student body is notably diverse. Asian students make up the largest share, followed closely by white students, then Hispanic and Black students, with small numbers of multiracial and Pacific Islander students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, as well as counts for students with disabilities and English learners, were not available, which means a parent should ask the school directly about its support for those populations.
On state assessments, the school shows a pattern of strong English language arts results that strengthen as students move through the grades, while math performance is generally solid but more variable, and science scores present a softer area. In the third grade, a large majority of students met the state's proficient benchmark in reading, and by eighth grade nearly nine out of ten did. In math, proficiency in the lower elementary grades was mixed, with fourth grade representing a lower point, but performance improved markedly by fifth, sixth, and seventh grades, where roughly six out of ten or more students were proficient, and seventh grade hit the school's highest math mark. In science, the results are lower, with roughly a third of fifth graders and close to that share of eighth graders reaching proficiency. This gap between science and reading is worth a conversation with the school, as it may reflect curriculum emphasis or the timing of when material is taught relative to the test.
Placing the school among Hudson County's twenty seven districts, its overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands in the top quartile, a strong showing for an elementary and middle school. However, its chronic absenteeism rate falls in the bottom quartile for the county, meaning a higher-than-average share of students are missing a substantial number of school days. This is a soft spot a parent should investigate, as chronic absence can affect academic progress, especially in the middle school years, regardless of how high the overall proficiency numbers look.
Per-pupil current spending is in the lower range among Hudson County districts. That figure is not inherently a problem, but a family may want to understand how the school allocates its resources, particularly given the strong testing results in English and math, to see whether certain areas, perhaps science, are underfunded relative to peers.
We looked for recent district changes reported publicly but found awards and program descriptions rather than clear parent-relevant updates such as a new principal, a building expansion, or a shift in curriculum. The school has been operating under its current structure for some time, and no major change was surfaced.
Because this is a single-building charter district, the local housing market is not the factor it is for a traditional district with attendance boundaries. Families who want a seat must apply through the charter's lottery process, and the school draws from multiple communities in the region. For a parent evaluating this option, the picture is one of a diverse school with clear academic strength in reading and generally good math outcomes, particularly in the upper grades, set against a higher rate of chronic absenteeism and relatively low science scores. The top-quartile overall proficiency ranking among a large county field is a genuine point of confidence, but the absenteeism data and science results are both areas a thoughtful parent would probe before deciding.
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