Red Bank Charter School, Red Bank NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Red Bank Charter School

Red Bank Charter School is a public charter school in Monmouth County serving grades PK through 8. As a charter school, it operates independently of the local school district, and families choose to enroll here through an application process rather than being assigned by address. The school is small, which shapes its character as a place where students and staff know each other well.

The student body reflects the demographic diversity of the surrounding community. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals that the school serves a mix of income levels. The largest racial and ethnic group is Hispanic students, followed by white students, with small shares of Black and Asian students represented.

Academically, the picture is uneven and changes meaningfully by grade level and subject. In English language arts, students in the upper elementary and middle school grades generally show stronger results than those in the younger grades. In the middle grades, the share of students meeting proficiency is a clear strength, with the majority of tested students reaching that bar. In the lower elementary grades, results are more mixed, with a smaller share reaching proficiency.

In math, the pattern is different. Performance is more inconsistent across grade levels, with no grade reaching the same level of proficiency seen in the middle-grade English results. In science, the data shows a different challenge. At the elementary level tested, no students met the proficiency standard, and at the middle school level, a small share reached that mark. This is a soft spot in the school's academic profile, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how science is taught and supported.

Because the school only serves through eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. This is not a gap in the school's performance; it simply reflects the grade band the school covers. Parents considering this school will need to plan for where their child will attend high school after eighth grade.

The school is located in Red Bank, a densely populated borough that functions as a commuter town to New York City. The downtown along Broad Street is walkable and hosts an active calendar of festivals, a farmers' market, and cultural events anchored by the Count Basie Center for the Arts. The Red Bank train station is in the downtown core, making the area convenient for families who commute to the city. The borough's population grew over the past decade and has held fairly steady since. The housing market here is expensive, with home values and rents that are above national and state medians. For a family moving into the area, this is a pricey market, and the charter school offers a distinct academic option from the local district schools.

We looked for recent changes or strategic priorities specific to the charter school itself with lasting impact for parents, but publicly reported information on that front was thin. The school's relatively small size and charter status mean that its programming, budget, and governance can evolve in ways that are less visible than in a larger district. Parents considering enrollment should be comfortable seeking current information directly from the school on curriculum, enrichment offerings, and any changes to the school's operations.

In comparison to other districts across Monmouth County, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. This is a plain statement of how its combined test results stack up against a wide set of neighboring districts, and it gives context to the mixed academic data. The school has areas of real strength in middle-grade English, but the math and science results are softer, and the overall picture is one of variability rather than uniform performance. A family choosing this school will be choosing a small, diverse, urban charter environment with a walkable downtown setting and a set of academic results that are strongest in the middle-school English classroom. It is a school that fits a family who is drawn to its size, its independence, and its community context, and who will want to dig into the details of how the school approaches math and science instruction.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 7%

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 47 pts below county median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 39%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 17%

even with state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 48 pts below county median

Grade 670%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 761%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 870%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 20%

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

This schoolRed Bank Charter School, 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-income18%Higher-income70%52 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income70%Higher-income70%0 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income9%Higher-income80%71 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income40%0 pp gap