Hope Academy Charter School, Asbury Park NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Hope Academy Charter School

Hope Academy Charter School is a K-8 charter school located in Asbury Park, a densely populated beachfront city on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County. As a charter school, it operates independently of the local district, drawing students through a lottery process. The school serves kindergarten through eighth grade, meaning families looking for a high school pathway will need to plan ahead, as the school does not serve those grades.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with enrollment figures reflecting a composition typical of the urban core. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context. The school is situated in a city that has been undergoing sustained revitalization, with ongoing investments in its boardwalk, downtown, and historic structures, but also with many blocks still slated for reconstruction. Housing values in the immediate area are elevated, in line with the wider Jersey Shore market, though the school's zip code encompasses a mix of conditions.

On state assessments, the picture is mixed. In English language arts, results vary by grade level, with some upper grades showing rates of proficiency that are closer to parity with broader state norms, while lower grades have a wider gap. In mathematics, the proficiency rates across all tested grades are low. In science, the proficiency rates are also very low. Overall, the school's composite proficiency index, which averages performance across all tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Monmouth County. This is a straightforward signal that academic attainment on state tests is an area of concern for the school as a whole, and a parent may want to discuss with the school how it addresses foundational skills in math and science, and what its curriculum and intervention strategies look like.

Because the school serves only through eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate or college readiness data to report. Chronic absenteeism data and discipline data were also not available in the source material. The school's special education and English learner counts were absent from the provided data, so a parent should directly ask the school about the staffing and programming for those populations.

Publicly reported information indicates that in late 2020, the school was approved to continue expanding its enrollment cap, which could affect lottery odds and class sizes for incoming families. Additionally, in 2020 the school purchased an adjacent building to accommodate growth, with kindergarten students moving into the renovated space for the 2021-22 school year. This expansion signals that the school has been growing its physical footprint alongside its enrollment.

As a charter school, Hope Academy offers an alternative to the local Asbury Park public schools for families who are accepted through the lottery. For a family weighing this option, the central trade-off is between the school's mission and community environment and the academic results as measured by state tests, which are weaker than most peers in the county. A family considering this school should visit, ask about the school's academic improvement plans, and understand the lottery timeline and odds.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Grade 43%

School 3% · District 3%

▼ 43 pts below state median · ▼ 51 pts below county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 20%

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

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 53 pts below county median

Grade 712%

School 12% · District 12%

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

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 17%

even with state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 40%

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 65%

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

Science

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 8%

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

This schoolHope 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.