Original Research by School Decision on Reach Academy Charter School
REACH Academy Charter School operates as a single-campus charter school district serving kindergarten through grade seven in Erie County. The school's enrollment spans a range of sizes across its grade bands, with larger cohorts in the elementary years and a notably smaller group in grade seven, reflecting the school's recent expansion to include middle grades.
The student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial Hispanic enrollment and smaller populations of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and special populations including English learners was not available, so a parent would want to contact the school directly to understand its student support infrastructure and the breakdown of students with individualized education plans or language learners.
The school's most recent state assessment results were not available in the data provided. Without proficiency rates or multi-year academic trends, a prospective family cannot see how students perform on state testing or whether that performance has been moving in a particular direction. This is a significant gap for school selection; a parent evaluating REACH should request proficiency data and academic results directly from the school and ask how those results compare to other charter and traditional public options in Buffalo and Erie County.
On the attendance front, REACH reports a chronic absenteeism rate that places it in the bottom quartile among Erie County's districts. This is a concrete concern. Chronic absenteeism often signals barriers to school access, family instability, transportation challenges, or student engagement issues, and it correlates with lower academic outcomes. A parent may want to explore this further with the school: what is driving the high rate, what support systems does the school have in place, and what is the school's action plan to improve attendance.
Per-pupil spending at REACH falls in the lower range among the county's districts, meaning the school operates with less money per student than the median district in the area. This does not inherently predict quality, but it does mean less discretionary resources for enrichment, small class sizes, or specialized staff.
The school recently underwent charter renewal and expansion. As of the renewal effective in 2023, REACH was authorized to grow substantially in enrollment and add grade levels, extending through grade eight. The school has opened a dedicated middle school building at a separate campus location, housing the new seventh and eighth grade cohorts. For families with young children, this means the possibility of staying at the same school organization through middle school rather than transferring.
The school's website and operational details were not fully captured in the available data. A parent considering REACH should visit the school directly, review its website for curriculum information and program specifics, and request recent academic performance data and attendance information to make an informed choice.
See more original research from School Decision →