The top reported proficiency rate is 30% in English language arts. The lowest is 5% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Atlantic Community Charter School
Atlantic Community Charter School is a single-school charter district serving kindergarten through eighth grade. It operates as its own local education agency, meaning the charter school itself functions as a district. The school’s enrollment is small for a K–8 setting, with roughly similar class sizes across every grade. The student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial share of Hispanic students and small numbers of white, Asian, multiracial, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. Data on economic disadvantage, special education, and English learner status were not available in the sources we reviewed.
State assessment results from the most recent testing year show a clear pattern. In mathematics, proficiency rates were very low in every grade. Across grades three through eight, at most a small percentage of students met the state’s proficient or above benchmark, and in several grades the share was in the single digits. English language arts results were more mixed. The lower elementary grades, particularly third grade, had similarly low proficiency. But from fifth grade upward the rates rose, with seventh and eighth graders reaching levels that approached or exceeded half of students tested. Science performance, tested in grades five and eight, was low in fifth grade and fell to zero among tested eighth graders.
When compared with other districts across Atlantic County, the school’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades fell in the bottom quartile. Chronic absenteeism, reported at a high level, also placed the school in the bottom quartile. Per-pupil spending, by contrast, was in the upper range among county districts, a figure that may reflect the costs of operating a small charter as a standalone district. Since the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report.
The district brief, based on publicly reported information, did not identify any recent property-tax changes, curriculum overhauls, or referendum decisions that would alter a parent’s current decision-making. That means the school’s academic profile, enrollment composition, and spending level are the main factors to weigh.
For a family considering Atlantic Community Charter School, the picture is one of a small, diverse charter with uneven academic results. Math achievement is a persistent soft spot across all grades. English language arts shows a notable improvement as students move through the upper grades, which may indicate a programmatic strength or a cohort effect. The high chronic absenteeism rate is a concern that could affect classroom momentum and individual student progress; a parent may want to ask the school directly about attendance supports. The elevated per-pupil spending relative to other districts in the county suggests that resources are above average, but whether those resources translate into the instructional support families are looking for is something only a school visit and conversation with staff can clarify. Because the school ends at eighth grade, families will also need to plan for the high school transition separately. There is no comparative data on programs, course access, or discipline from the sources we had, so those remain open questions.
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