Original Research by School Decision on Utica Academy of Science Charter School
Utica Academy of Science Charter School serves all grades from kindergarten through twelfth grade across a single consolidated campus in Frankfort, drawing an enrollment that spans the full breadth of the community. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse, with roughly equal representation among Black, Hispanic, and white students, alongside a substantial share of Asian students. The school does not report data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, or English learner enrollment, so a parent would need to ask directly about the profile of economically disadvantaged or multilingual students.
The school has no state academic proficiency or graduation rate data available in this database, a gap that reflects either missing reporting or the nature of how the school's outcomes are tracked at the state level. Any family considering enrollment should ask the school directly for recent assessment results and graduation outcomes so they can evaluate academic performance themselves. What the school does report is attendance: chronic absenteeism runs substantially below the median for Herkimer County districts, suggesting that families and students engage consistently with the school day.
On spending, the school operates at the lower end of the per-pupil expenditure range among its county peers. This is publicly reported data and reflects the school's resource allocation; a parent may want to understand what this means for class sizes, staffing ratios, facility maintenance, or program breadth compared to how the school was operating or how other options in the region spend.
A major operational shift occurred in the 2021-2022 school year when the school consolidated all grades onto its single Frankfort campus, moving its middle school from separate facilities. This streamlines transportation and coordination for families but is the kind of structural change a parent with children at different grade levels would want to account for in their daily routines.
The school operates under a charter granted by New York State, which approved a four-year renewal in 2021 alongside an increase in authorized enrollment capacity. This expansion is relevant because the school has historically operated with a waitlist; more seats over the renewal term means families may have a better chance of enrollment without waiting. In 2024 the school began surveying families on a proposal to add one student per classroom, a modest but real increase that would affect the school's smaller-class model that some families choose the school for.
The website and public information from the school suggest a focus on science and academic rigor, though detailed program descriptions and course offerings are not available in this data set. A family interested in this school should review the school's website and curriculum directly, ask about honors or AP pathways if high school is relevant to them, and request current academic results and graduate outcomes so they can make a grounded enrollment decision.
See more original research from School Decision →