Beloved Community Charter School, Jersey City NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Beloved Community Charter School

BelovED Community Charter School is a free, public charter school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade from a single location on Grand Street in Jersey City. It is the only K-12 charter school in the city, a fact its district brief notes was completed in 2023 after years of adding one grade per year since opening with only the earliest grades. The school operates as its own district, the BelovED Community Charter district, separate from the Jersey City public school system.

The student body reflects the diversity of Jersey City itself. No single racial or ethnic group holds a majority. Hispanic students and Black students each form a substantial share of enrollment, with White students and Asian students also present in notable numbers. A very large proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a population with significant economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available for this profile, a gap a parent may want to ask the school about directly.

On state assessments, the school’s results show a clear pattern that varies by subject. In English language arts, proficiency rates across third through eighth grade are mostly strong, with a majority of students scoring at or above the proficient level in every grade tested except fifth. Some grades, such as fourth, sixth, and eighth, show particularly high rates. Math tells a different story. Early elementary grades start with a solid proficiency rate in third grade, but the numbers decline steadily through each subsequent grade, dropping by a wide margin by eighth grade. Science results for fifth and eighth grade show a small share of students reaching proficiency, a weaker area that warrants a conversation with the school about its curriculum and support in science. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency across subjects and grades places it above the midpoint relative to other districts in Hudson County.

Because this is a K-12 school, it has a high school program but the data did not include a four-year graduation rate. A parent interested in high school outcomes should ask the school for its graduation and postsecondary enrollment data directly. No information was available on discipline, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access such as Advanced Placement or dual enrollment, so those are gaps a prospective family should investigate.

BelovED is in the middle of notable changes. The school is planning a major move to a new campus at Canal Crossing, expected to open in 2027, which will replace its current Grand Street facilities with three new school buildings. That project is publicly reported and would provide modern classrooms and specialty spaces the current buildings lack. At the same time, the school has applied for a charter renewal that would allow it to expand enrollment and serve more students over the coming years. The school maintains a waiting list, a publicly reported sign of demand.

Jersey City is a dense, mixed-use urban environment that has grown rapidly, driven by waterfront redevelopment and its role as a financial and transportation hub. The school sits in a diverse, walkable city with extensive transit connections to Manhattan. Housing costs in the area are elevated compared to state and national benchmarks, a characteristic of the broader Jersey City market.

For a family considering BelovED, the school offers a single K-12 pathway that eliminates the need to transition between schools across grades, a structure that appeals to families seeking continuity. The English language arts program appears to be a genuine strength, while math and science are areas where the school produces weaker results and where a parent would want to understand current interventions and high school course offerings. The school serves a high-need student population and operates within a competitive charter environment in a fast-growing city. The planned campus move is a significant upcoming change that could alter the school’s facilities and capacity.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 733%

School 33% · District 33%

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

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 20%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 669%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 766%

School 66% · District 66%

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

Grade 878%

School 78% · District 78%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Science

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 35%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14%

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

This schoolBelovED Community Charter, 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-income58%Higher-income78%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income76%Higher-income93%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income84%39 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income68%Higher-income77%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income61%Higher-income90%29 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income78%Higher-income77%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income60%Higher-income83%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income54%Higher-income82%27 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income37%Higher-income75%38 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income35%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income32%Higher-income40%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income19%Higher-income21%2 pp gap