Creativity Colaboratory Charter School, Elmer NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Creativity Colaboratory Charter School

Creativity CoLaboratory Charter School, located in Elmer, Salem County, is a regular public charter school serving grades five through eight. It is the sole school of its district, a single-school charter that opened in the latter half of the past decade and has seen its enrollment roughly double from its inaugural year, a trajectory that points to sustained demand for what the school’s name suggests: an arts-integrated, STEAM-focused program. For a family considering it, the school offers a small middle-school environment in a rural setting, but state assessment results show a student body where the share meeting proficiency benchmarks falls well below typical expectations.

On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, the school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Salem County. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above varied by grade. Performance was strongest in the middle grades, with roughly half of seventh graders meeting the bar. Sixth and eighth graders also saw a notable share, though fifth graders had a lower proficiency rate. In mathematics, the pattern was more uneven. Seventh graders had the strongest result, but the other three grades each had a much smaller share of students reaching the proficiency cut. Science results, available for fifth and eighth grades, showed proficiency rates that were moderate. Across the board, these numbers are below the county median, a gap that a parent may want to explore further with the school to understand how instruction, curriculum, and support align with the school’s stated program.

The student body numbers just under two hundred, split roughly evenly across the four grade levels. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a moderate level of economic need. The racial and ethnic composition is predominantly White, with a notable Hispanic presence and small shares of Black students and students of two or more races. The school does not serve high school grades, so it has no graduation rate; what happens after eighth grade depends on the high school a family chooses in the area.

Elmer itself is a compact borough of about one square mile, designated as a Town Center that serves as the commercial hub for the surrounding rural townships of Pittsgrove and Upper Pittsgrove. It has a traditional small downtown along Main Street with a diner, banks, shops, and a hospital. It is a dry town where alcohol cannot be sold. The population has been stable to slightly declining over recent decades, and there is limited room for major new development. Housing values in the zip code are modest compared to the state median, though above the national median. The residential feel is quiet and agricultural in character. The school’s location is on Shirley Road, which places it within the borough but outside the immediate downtown core.

The district brief notes that the charter school experienced rapid enrollment growth from its first year onward, which means the current community is still relatively new and expanding. This growth carries implications for class sizes and the lottery process for admission. The school does not appear to have a separate high school program, so its role is purely a middle school pathway. No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing was available. No specific program offerings beyond the broad STEAM framing were provided.

For a family, Creativity CoLaboratory Charter School represents a choice within the Salem County landscape: a small, arts- and science-focused middle school that has attracted growing interest but whose academic outcomes on state assessments lag behind most nearby districts. A parent will want to understand how the school’s approach addresses the proficiency gaps and what supports are in place. The setting is rural-small-town, the community is majority White with moderate economic diversity, and the housing market is accessible relative to the broader New Jersey context. Without high school or specialized upper-level offerings, the school is a stepping stone rather than a terminal destination, and families planning for high school will need to look ahead to the Pittsgrove Township district or other area options.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 6%

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 19%

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

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 40%

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

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 13%

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

English language arts

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 23%

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

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 46%

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

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Science

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 25%

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

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 25%

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

This schoolCreativity CoLaboratory 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 5Lower-income16%Higher-income28%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income65%43 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income55%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income44%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income5%Higher-income7%2 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income9%Higher-income27%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income42%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income10%7 pp gap