The top reported proficiency rate is 34% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Las Americas Aspira Academy
Las Americas ASPIRA Academy is a charter school in Newark, Delaware, serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. It operates as part of ASPIRA Delaware, an organization that has recently restructured into a single entity and expanded to two campuses. The East Campus on Ruthar Drive serves the elementary and middle grades, while a West Campus on Otts Chapel Road houses the high school. The school's mission centers on a dual language immersion program, and its enrollment is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller Black, white, and multiracial populations. The school has grown substantially in recent years, a trajectory that the organization attributes to community demand for its language model.
The academic picture is mixed and worth a close look. On the most recent state assessments for grades three through eight, ELA proficiency sits above math and science. Math proficiency is low, and science results are similar. Social studies results vary widely by grade, with one middle grade performing far better than the elementary and other middle grades tested. A parent may want to look into how instruction differs across grade bands to understand that variation.
The longer trend tells a story of decline and partial recovery. In the years before the pandemic, ELA proficiency hovered around half of tested students and math sat in the low forties percentile range. Both dropped sharply after COVID disruptions. Math has not come close to its earlier levels, though the most recent year shows a slight uptick. ELA has rebounded somewhat but remains well below where it stood five years ago. Against the comparison set of New Castle County districts, ASPIRA's overall proficiency index lands above the midpoint, which reflects how broadly the county's schools vary rather than strong absolute performance. No graduation rate, chronic absenteeism, or course access data was available, so the picture of high school outcomes and student engagement is incomplete here. Free-or-reduced-price lunch counts, special education rates, and English learner rates were also missing, which limits the ability to contextualize the proficiency numbers against the student population the school serves.
Newark itself is a college-dominated small city anchored by the University of Delaware. Main Street runs alongside the campus and functions as the commercial and social core, with student-oriented businesses and established residential neighborhoods branching outward. The city has a substantial park system with dozens of parks and miles of trails. Outside the downtown-campus corridor, most residents drive to work, and the city is broadly car-dependent. SEPTA and Amtrak serve Newark Rail Station on the Northeast Corridor, and a local bus network connects through the Newark Transit Hub. The university is the dominant employer. A former Chrysler assembly plant that closed during the last recession left a large industrial site, and the city has since pushed for controlled growth and compatible land use.
The housing market around the school is moderate by regional standards. Home values in the school's zip code sit above the national benchmark and modestly above the Delaware state benchmark, with prices rising at a faster annual clip than the state as a whole. Rents are also climbing. For families considering a move into the area, the cost of entry is real but not prohibitive compared to wealthier corridors in New Castle County.
What ASPIRA offers is a specific kind of school: a charter with a dual language identity, a Hispanic-majority student body, and a structure that lets a family stay in one program from kindergarten through senior year. The continuity of a K-12 pathway under one umbrella is a real draw for families who want stability and a shared cultural-linguistic context through the grades. The academic results, though, are a genuine concern. Proficiency has fallen from its earlier baseline and has not fully recovered. A family weighing this school should ask directly what the current improvement plan looks like, how the dual language model is functioning in the upper grades, and what supports are in place for students who arrive below grade level. The school's growth and expansion suggest community confidence in its mission. The test results suggest that mission and execution are not yet aligned in measured outcomes.
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