The New School of San Francisco, San Francisco CA

Original Research by School Decision on The New School of San Francisco

The New School of San Francisco is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade at a single North Beach campus. It draws enrollment of roughly mid-range size for its grade band, with a student body distributed fairly evenly across grades, and a meaningful presence of Asian, Hispanic, and white families. About one-third of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.

The school's defining feature is its intentional diversity structure. Its admissions lottery reserves at least half of seats for students from households meeting free or reduced-price meal thresholds, deliberately mixing economic backgrounds. This is paired with an inquiry-based curriculum that integrates racial literacy teaching across subjects, reflecting a deliberate pedagogical choice about how students encounter academic content and one another.

In state testing, the school shows a clearer strength in English language arts than in math. Across grades three through eight, ELA proficiency runs solidly in the upper range, with grades four and five particularly strong. Math proficiency trails notably, with third grade showing meaningful gaps and other grades settling in the mid-range despite some solid pockets in grades four and seven. Science proficiency at grade five sits well above midpoint; grade eight science dips lower. Across the school's tested grades, the overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile of schools within San Francisco County.

The school has recently completed a grade-band expansion to become a full TK-8 program, allowing families to enroll children as early as transitional kindergarten and keep them through eighth grade at the same campus. This represents a lasting structural change for families considering the school.

The North Beach location sits in one of San Francisco's walkable, urban neighborhoods with a neighborhood feel and established character. Housing values in the surrounding area are elevated even within San Francisco, and rents reflect the premium nature of the location. Parents considering this school are typically drawn to its explicit commitment to economic and racial diversity, its inquiry-based and personalized learning model tracked through individual plans, and the continuity of a complete K-8 pathway. A parent weighing enrollment may want to explore with the school how it approaches math instruction and support, given the lower proficiency seen in early and middle grades, and how that instruction will evolve as students move upward through the grade band.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 469%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 664%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 768%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 866%

School 66% · District 66%

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 670%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 777%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Science

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

This schoolThe New School of San Francisco District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income5%Higher-income70%65 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income77%Higher-income74%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income82%32 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income48%Higher-income97%49 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income50%Higher-income85%35 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income10%Higher-income63%53 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income59%Higher-income74%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income80%42 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income32%Higher-income94%62 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income55%Higher-income72%17 pp gap