Sara M. Gilmore Academy, Union City NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Sara M. Gilmore Academy

Sara M. Gilmore Academy is a regular public school in Union City, part of the Union City School District, serving grades one through eight. The school sits in one of the densest urban settings in the United States, a city of tightly packed multi-family housing, numbered streets, and active commercial corridors like Bergenline Avenue. Union City was formed from the merger of two former towns and is almost entirely landlocked, so growth comes through redevelopment rather than outward expansion. Home values and rents in the area are high relative to national benchmarks, consistent with the pressures of the New York metropolitan commuter zone.

Gilmore Academy enrolls a student body that is mostly Hispanic, with smaller shares of White and Asian students. A significant portion qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which puts the school in a moderate range for economic need. The school does not report counts for special education or English learner populations, so a family would want to ask the district directly about supports in those areas. The school environment data, including discipline, staffing, and chronic absenteeism, was not available, which leaves gaps in understanding the daily experience.

Academically, the school shows a pattern of very strong performance in English language arts across all tested grades, with proficiency reaching near-universal levels in several grades. Math proficiency is also strong in the early and middle grades, but it drops notably in seventh grade and especially eighth grade, where fewer than half of students reach the proficient mark. Science results follow a similar pattern: strong at the fifth-grade level, then falling sharply by eighth grade. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among Hudson County districts, a substantial showing. A family might want to ask the school how it approaches math and science instruction in the upper grades and what interventions are in place for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks.

Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The district does have high schools, and publicly reported developments include a new Esther Salas Academy for grades seven through nine, expected to open soon, which could reshuffle the middle-grade experience for students entering Gilmore’s feeder pattern. Another district school, José Martí STEM Academy, earned a National Blue Ribbon designation, signaling a specialized option for families who want a focused science and technology pathway after elementary or middle school.

The school building itself is integrated into the dense street grid rather than set on a suburban campus. Union City’s lack of a traditional downtown and its reliance on NJ Transit buses and the Lincoln Tunnel for regional connections means that student commutes are likely short but constrained by traffic and pedestrian density. The only major park, Washington Park, sits at the city’s southern border; recreational open space is limited.

Overall, Gilmore Academy is a high-performing elementary-to-middle school in a tightly packed urban environment, where English language arts results are exceptional across the board but math and science performance tapers in the upper grades. A family would find a school that delivers consistently strong reading and writing outcomes, serves a diverse and largely Hispanic student body, and sits in a district that is investing in new buildings and specialized academies. The gaps in available data on special populations, staffing, and discipline mean that a closer look at the school’s day-to-day environment is warranted.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 396%

School 96% · District 50% · ▲ 46 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 54 pts above county median

Grade 487%

School 87% · District 46% · ▲ 41 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 589%

School 89% · District 42% · ▲ 47 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 55 pts above county median

Grade 685%

School 85% · District 40% · ▲ 45 pts above district

▲ 52 pts above state median · ▲ 58 pts above county median

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 35% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 37% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 391%

School 91% · District 41% · ▲ 50 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 53 pts above county median

Grade 4100%

School 100% · District 56% · ▲ 44 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

Grade 593%

School 93% · District 56% · ▲ 37 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Grade 696%

School 96% · District 64% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 46 pts above county median

Grade 796%

School 96% · District 66% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 8100%

School 100% · District 70% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Science

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 20% · ▲ 43 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 8% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

This schoolUnion City School District, 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-income89%Higher-income95%6 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income100%Higher-income100%0 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income92%Higher-income95%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income94%Higher-income100%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income100%Higher-income100%0 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income93%Higher-income100%7 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income85%Higher-income91%6 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income84%Higher-income95%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income89%Higher-income80%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income67%Higher-income76%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income54%Higher-income60%6 pp gap