Community Charter School of Paterson, Paterson NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Community Charter School of Paterson

Community Charter School of Paterson serves kindergarten through eighth grade as a regular public charter school in the heart of Paterson, one of New Jersey’s most densely populated and economically challenged cities. The school is an independent public school, not part of the Paterson Public Schools district, and operates with its own board and authorizer. It draws students from across the city, which means its enrollment reflects the broader Paterson population: the student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with a very small share of White, Asian, or multiracial students. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with significant economic need. Information on the share of students with disabilities or who are classified as English learners was not available.

Academically, the pattern across tested subjects is uneven and shifts noticeably by grade level. In English language arts, the school’s strongest results come in the upper elementary and middle grades. Fourth graders, seventh graders, and eighth graders all posted proficiency rates that were notably higher than the school’s overall average, while third, fifth, and sixth graders were closer to a third proficient. In math, the picture is more challenging. Third and fourth graders performed at a moderate level of proficiency, but from fifth grade onward the rates dropped sharply, with very few students in fifth, sixth, seventh, or eighth grade meeting the state’s proficiency bar. Science results are low in both tested grades, fifth and eighth. A parent considering this school may want to ask how the school supports math learning in the middle grades, given the steep decline after fourth grade. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across all tested subjects and grades, sits below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Passaic County. Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report.

No district-level changes, strategic priorities, or recent facility or program developments were publicly available to inform this account, so those areas are left out rather than guessed at. The school’s curriculum, teaching approach, and extracurricular offerings are not described in the data provided.

The setting is entirely urban. Paterson is a dense, historically industrial city that remains a major destination for immigrant communities, and the school at 75 Spruce Street is located within walking distance of the Great Falls National Historical Park and the downtown civic core. The city has a high poverty rate and an active, immigrant-driven commercial street life along corridors like Main Street. Housing in the area is less expensive than the New Jersey state average, and rental prices have been rising. The city’s population has been slowly increasing in recent years.

For a family deciding whether this school fits, the central factors are clear. The school is a charter serving a high-need urban population through eighth grade. Academic performance is mixed, with English language arts stronger in some grades than others and math presenting a real challenge from fifth grade onward. A parent considering this school should expect to engage directly with the school about how it addresses middle school math, what interventions or supports are available, and what the transition looks like for students who will need to find a high school after eighth grade. The school does not appear in the available data to have a formal high school pathway, so that next step is entirely the family’s responsibility.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 48%

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

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 14%

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

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 14%

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

Grade 79%

School 9% · District 9%

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

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 17%

even with state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 32%

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

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 44%

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

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

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 47%

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

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 44%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Science

Grade 53%

School 3% · District 3%

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

Grade 84%

School 4% · District 4%

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

This schoolCommunity Charter School of Paterson, 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.