The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Social studies. The lowest is 22% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Lawrence Family Development Charter School
Lawrence Family Development Charter School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in a single building on West Street in Lawrence, Massachusetts. As a charter school, it operates independently of the Lawrence Public Schools district but is authorized by the state and overseen by its own board. The school is part of the Lawrence Family Development Charter District, which is the charter-holder for this single campus.
The student body is large for a K-8 school and almost entirely Hispanic or Latino, with small numbers of white and Black students enrolled. The data does not report how many students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, nor does it show the share of students with disabilities or those identified as English learners. This information is not available in the source material, so a parent would need to ask the school directly about the level of support for English language development and special education.
State testing results from the Massachusetts Next Generation MCAS assessments show that in the 2024-25 school year, proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science were below the midpoint of the state’s averages. The school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quarter of districts in Essex County, a positioning that includes many schools in the region. In math and English language arts, roughly one in five students scored proficient or above; in science, just under one in four did so. The only subject where a larger share of students reached proficiency was eighth-grade social studies, where more than one in three students met that bar.
Looking over time, the school’s test outcomes have dropped substantially since the 2016-17 school year, when proficiency rates were much higher in both math and English language arts. The decline was especially steep following the pandemic year of 2020-21, and the numbers have not recovered. In math, proficiency has held steady at a relatively low level for the past several school years after the initial drop. In English language arts, the trend has been a gradual decline year over year. A parent considering this school would want to understand what steps the school is taking to raise achievement and whether the trend has stabilized.
Because the school stops at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and the data does not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, or staffing ratios. These are meaningful gaps. Families should ask about class sizes, teacher turnover, and what kind of academic pathway the school provides after eighth grade—whether most students go on to Lawrence Public high schools, other charter high schools, or private options.
Lawrence itself is a densely packed industrial city on the Merrimack River with a strong working-class and immigrant identity. The population is predominantly Hispanic, with deep Puerto Rican and Dominican roots, and the city’s culture is reflected in ethnic festivals and community organizations. The school is situated in a compact urban grid, with historic brick mill buildings and dense multi-family housing nearby. The city has walkable neighborhoods, a riverfront esplanade, and a downtown centered on Common Street. Major employers include Lawrence General Hospital, a New Balance shoe manufacturing plant, and Charm Sciences. The city’s housing market, while modestly priced relative to the broader Boston metro area, has seen home values and rents rise in recent years, though the data does not indicate a rapid boom.
The charter school’s district, Lawrence Family Development Charter District, has no publicly reported major recent changes—no shift in leadership, no new program launches, and no boundary changes that would affect families. The absence of such news may simply reflect the stability of a single-school charter, but it also means there is little public information about the district’s strategic direction.
Overall, this is a school in a deeply Hispanic urban community that serves a large number of students through eighth grade. Its test scores are lower than those of many other districts in Essex County, and proficiency has been declining over the past several years, a pattern that warrants a close look by any family weighing this option. The gaps in data on special populations, staffing, and discipline mean that a parent should plan to visit, observe classrooms, and ask pointed questions about how the school supports students who are behind grade level, how it addresses behavioral issues, and what its plan is to reverse the academic trend. For families who value a charter school setting in the heart of a culturally rich, dense city, and who are comfortable having an active role in understanding the school’s inner workings, this school may be worth investigating further.
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