Paterson Arts and Science Charter School, Paterson NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Paterson Arts and Science Charter School

Paterson Arts and Science Charter School is a K-12 charter school located in the heart of Paterson, New Jersey’s third-largest city. It operates as a regular public school under a charter, meaning it is publicly funded but independently managed—in this case by iLearn Schools. The school occupies a single building on Grand Street in a dense urban neighborhood, drawing students from across the city.

The student body is large enough to support a full thirteen-grade span, with roughly balanced cohorts in the elementary and middle grades and somewhat smaller classes in the upper high school years. The great majority of students come from low-income households, a reflection of the city’s economic profile. Racially and ethnically, the school is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a Black minority and very small shares of White, Asian, and other groups. Information on how many students receive special education services or are English learners was not available in the data reviewed; a parent may want to ask the school directly about these support populations.

Academically, the school’s results on New Jersey’s state assessments place it below the midpoint of districts in Passaic County, in the bottom quartile of the comparison set. In English language arts, proficiency rates show a wide range across grades, with one elementary grade reaching around half of students meeting the bar and others closer to a third. In math, proficiency is notably lower across all tested grades, with figures consistently in the low teens to single digits except for the third grade. Science scores, tested in fifth and eighth grades, are lower still. These are soft spots, and a family considering the school would want to understand what academic interventions, tutoring, or curriculum supports are in place. The school serves kindergarten through twelfth grade, but a graduation rate was not reported in the data, so whether students who enter stay through to a diploma is not clear from this set of information.

Paterson itself is a historic industrial city built around the Great Falls of the Passaic River. After decades of manufacturing decline and population loss, the city has seen modest growth in recent years, driven in part by immigrant communities from the Middle East, Latin America, and South Asia. The city’s main commercial corridors, especially Main Street, have a lively street life with immigrant-owned shops and restaurants. The housing market reflects the urban setting: home values in the area are below the statewide median but above the national average, and rents have been rising. The city has several civic anchors—the Great Falls National Historical Park, the Paterson Museum, and Garret Mountain Reservation—and is served by NJ Transit bus and train lines.

A notable recent development for this school’s network: in late 2024, the state board approved Paterson Passaic Charter School, a new K-8 school operated by the same management group. It is scheduled to open in fall 2025, offering a feeder pathway into the upper grades at Paterson Arts and Science. For families already at the charter or considering it, this creates a continuous option from kindergarten through high school under a single curriculum approach.

In sum, this charter serves a high-poverty, majority-Hispanic student body in a dense urban environment. Its academic results on state tests are on the lower end compared with other districts in Passaic County, and the lack of reported graduation and special-population data leaves some questions open. Families who value an arts-and-science-themed curriculum within the iLearn Schools network, and who want a single building that takes students from kindergarten through high school, may find it a fit—but they should investigate the academic support structures and ask about the missing data points directly. The new sister school may strengthen the continuity of the experience for younger students entering the pipeline.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 56 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

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 330%

School 30% · District 30%

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

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 14%

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

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 14%

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

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 10%

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

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 16%

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

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 26%

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

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 51%

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

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 32%

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

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 33%

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

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 38%

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

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 34%

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

Science

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 9%

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

Grade 88%

School 8% · District 8%

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

This schoolPaterson Arts and Science 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-income26%Higher-income23%3 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income53%Higher-income45%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income60%33 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income48%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income40%Higher-income33%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income35%Higher-income32%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income28%Higher-income46%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income18%Higher-income0%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income15%Higher-income7%9 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income10%Higher-income10%1 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income14%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income13%Higher-income21%9 pp gap