Team Academy Charter School, Newark NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Team Academy Charter School

TEAM Academy Charter School is a large K–12 charter school in downtown Newark that serves the city as part of the KIPP New Jersey network. It is a regular public school by type, operates under a charter that was recently renewed through 2027, and draws its student body entirely from Newark. The school occupies space near the city’s central business district, putting it within reach of transit hubs, cultural venues, and the downtown employment core that makes Newark the state’s largest job center.

Academically, TEAM Academy’s state testing results across math, English language arts, and science paint a mixed picture that families will want to examine closely. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above rises and falls by grade level, with the highest rates in fourth grade and a noticeable dip in sixth grade. English language arts results follow a somewhat stronger pattern, with proficiency rates climbing through the middle grades and reaching their highest point in seventh grade, where about half of students met the bar. Science scores are a soft spot: fifth-grade science proficiency is modest, and eighth-grade science proficiency is markedly lower. When viewed against other districts in Essex County, the school’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint of the county distribution. This means that while some grade-level results are solid, the school as a whole trails the median performance of its county peers. No graduation rate was available in the data for this school, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about its four-year completion figures. The district brief publicly reported that the charter network has seen a multi-year rise in its graduation rate, but that aggregate figure is not broken out for this single campus.

The student body is large and heavily shaped by economic need. A very high proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the racial composition is overwhelmingly Black, with a substantial Hispanic minority and a small share of students identifying as two or more races. White and Asian students together make up a tiny fraction of enrollment. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were missing from the profile, which is an important gap; a parent should ask the school about these populations and the supports available. State testing participation rates were also not reported, so it is unclear whether all enrolled students took the assessments.

Newark itself is a dense, mixed-use city with a revitalizing downtown, major port and airport employment, and a large network of universities and hospitals. Housing in the area, measured by typical home values, sits below the New Jersey state average; rents have been rising modestly. The city has added population in recent years and continues to attract investment in its core. For families considering TEAM Academy, the school is situated in a setting with robust transit and civic infrastructure but also with the challenges that accompany high-poverty urban schools.

The charter renewal through 2027 provides a measure of stability for families choosing this option. The school’s academic profile suggests it serves a high-need population and posts some grade-level strengths in ELA, while math and especially science performance are areas that a prospective parent would want to discuss with the school to understand what interventions and supports are in place. Given the missing data on special populations and participation rates, the school office is the best source for a fuller picture.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

92.0%Cohort of 220 students · Class of 2021

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

425 schools plotted. 7 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 45%

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

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 11 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 30%

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

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

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

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 44%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 45%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 750%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 49%

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 87%

School 7% · District 7%

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

This schoolTEAM Academy 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-income35%Higher-income46%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income46%2 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income41%Higher-income77%36 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income59%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income50%Higher-income61%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income48%Higher-income59%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income38%Higher-income51%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income58%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income56%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income39%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income30%Higher-income34%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income31%Higher-income51%20 pp gap