The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in English language arts. The lowest is 5% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Achieve Community Charter School
Achieve Community Charter School is now a closed institution, and any parent researching it today is likely looking backward—trying to understand what this school was, or perhaps tracing the continuity of its successor. The school, located on Clinton Avenue in Newark’s South Ward, served a middle school grade band and operated as a regular charter school. It is no longer active, and that fact shapes everything below.
The school’s academic record comes from the 2022-23 school year, the most recent data available before its closure. In math, proficiency rates on the state’s NJSLA assessment were low across every tested grade. The share of students scoring at or above proficient declined steadily from third grade through sixth grade, with eighth-grade results only modestly higher than the sixth-grade floor. In English language arts, the pattern was noticeably stronger. Proficient rates rose from third grade through fifth grade and held at a similar level in sixth grade, then reached the highest point of any tested group in eighth grade, where roughly half of students met the bar. Science results were very weak in fifth grade, and in eighth grade no student reached the proficient threshold. A parent looking at these results would see a school where literacy outcomes were a relative bright spot, while math and science achievement presented significant challenges.
The school merged with People’s Preparatory Charter School on July 1, 2023, creating a new entity called People’s Achieve Community Charter School. That merger, approved by the New Jersey Department of Education early that year, combined a K-8 charter with a high school charter, creating a single K-12 pathway in Newark. For families who were part of Achieve Community Charter School, this meant their school ceased to exist in its original form, but the K-8 program was folded into a larger, unified charter district. The new school likely inherited the same building and much of the same staff and student body, though the data available here does not confirm those details.
Newark itself is a dense, fast-changing city. It is the state’s most populous city and its largest employment center, with a downtown that mixes corporate headquarters, government offices, and university campuses. The South Ward where the school sat is one of five political wards, each with its own residential character. The city has seen significant population growth after decades of decline, and major investment has flowed into its downtown, port, and transportation infrastructure. Housing values in the area have softened slightly in the most recent data, and the broader housing market remains expensive relative to national benchmarks.
Because the school is closed, there are many things that cannot be said about it. There is no graduation rate to report; the school did not serve the high school grades where that measure applies. Enrollment and demographic counts, free or reduced-price lunch data, special education and English learner counts, discipline records, staffing figures, and course access information are all absent from the available record. The school’s operational status as closed explains some of those gaps, but not all. A parent trying to understand the peer environment or student support services at this school will find no information here.
The story of Achieve Community Charter School is really the story of a transition. It was a middle-grades charter in a large, complex city, with test results that showed a significant gap between English and math performance. It no longer exists in its original form; its work continues inside a K-12 charter that now serves a wider range of students. For any family whose student was attending this school, the relevant question is what People’s Achieve Community Charter School offers today, and whether the merger brought changes to curriculum, staffing, or academic outcomes.
See more original research from School Decision →