Original Research by School Decision on Par Excellence Academy Dba Par Excellence Stem Academy
Par Excellence STEM Academy is a small public charter serving kindergarten through sixth grade across Licking County, Ohio, from a base in Newark. The school opened as a traditional community charter and has since repositioned itself as a STEM-focused institution, now part of the Ohio STEM Learning Network. This curriculum shift is recent enough to be central to how the school defines itself to families today.
The academy enrolls a small, tight cohort of students across its grade band. Kindergarten through third grade carry the largest class sizes, with enrollment tapering noticeably in the upper elementary years. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial population of students identifying as two or more races; smaller numbers of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students also attend. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and on students receiving special education services or English language support are not publicly available, so a parent looking for clarity on the school's capacity to serve low-income families or students with learning differences would want to ask the school directly.
The school's academic identity centers on STEM and inquiry-based learning. Its curriculum integrates Project Lead The Way, Learning Blade, and InventionLand Education into daily instruction across grade levels. Every student receives a device—iPad or Chromebook—for classroom and independent use. This is not a traditional elementary setup; it is a deliberate pedagogical choice meant to scaffold problem-solving and technology literacy from an early age. Whether this approach aligns with a family's learning philosophy is a matter of fit rather than quality, and families considering the school should visit and understand how STEM instruction actually looks in practice across the early grades.
State testing data are not reported for this entity, so comparative proficiency information is unavailable. A parent cannot see how Par Excellence students perform on state assessments relative to Licking County's other districts or to state benchmarks. This gap reflects the school's charter status and grade band; Ohio does not report proficiency data for kindergarten through second grade on state assessments, and the school serves no grades beyond sixth, so the tested window is narrow. A parent seeking academic performance data would benefit from asking the school for internal assessment results or growth metrics the school uses to track learning.
Chronic absenteeism at Par Excellence falls in the bottom quartile among Licking County's districts, a soft spot. The school's chronic absenteeism rate is notably higher than the county median. A family with a child prone to absences, or living in a situation where attendance is fragile, may want to explore what support systems the school has in place and whether the rate reflects broader challenges in the student population or points to a specific operational concern. Per-pupil spending is in the middle to upper-middle range for the county, slightly above the median, which is unremarkable for a charter of this size.
As a public charter school, Par Excellence operates tuition-free to any Licking County resident. There is no local property tax, bond, or levy associated with enrollment; families do not carry a local funding obligation by choosing this school. Enrollment is open countywide rather than restricted to a single district, making it accessible to families across the county without relocation. This is meaningful for families weighing school choice within Licking County or considering a move; the school is an option regardless of where in the county they settle.
The school is small and intentional. It is not a traditional elementary with multiple classrooms per grade and a broad roster of after-school clubs. It is a choice school built around a specific pedagogical framework, serving a cohort of families drawn to STEM-centered, device-enabled learning in the early grades. A parent looking for a conventional elementary experience with a wide peer base might look elsewhere. A parent seeking an alternative to traditional early elementary instruction, with a commitment to technology integration and inquiry-based project work, would find Par Excellence worth a serious visit and conversation with school leadership.
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