The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in Science. The lowest is 23% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Mast Community Cs Iii
MaST Community Charter School III is a single-school charter serving kindergarten through ninth grade in Northeast Philadelphia, currently in the middle of a phased expansion toward a full K-12 pipeline. The school enrolled just over 1,300 students across its grade bands at the most recent count, with a student body that is roughly a third Black, a quarter Hispanic, and a fifth white, plus a meaningful Asian enrollment. About three-quarters of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of the families it serves.
The school's most significant change for families is its multi-year build-out. Each year MaST III adds a grade level; it now reaches through ninth, with a plan to add tenth this school year and eventually reach twelfth. For a family with a child in an early grade, this means admission through lottery gains continuity: once enrolled, a child can stay through graduation without re-entering the annual charter lottery. That structural shift is meaningful for families seeking stable, long-term K-12 placement in a charter setting within Philadelphia.
Admissions operate by citywide lottery through Apply Philly Charter, though a meaningful share of seats carry geographic priority for four specific Northeast Philadelphia ZIP codes. Families outside those zones face substantially steeper odds; this is something to research carefully with the school if you are considering application. Sibling preference applies once priority applicants are seated.
On academics, state testing data for grades three through eight shows the school is working with proficiency rates that lag. In math, the measured proficiency rate sits below a quarter of the students tested. In English language arts, it is closer to a third. Science results from the prior year show more strength at roughly four and a half in ten students reaching proficiency. These numbers place the school well below where many families hope to land and suggest parents should ask the school directly about its reading and math support structures, curriculum choices, and plans to lift these results. The school does not report special education or English learner enrollment data, so you may want to ask about the availability of those services and their quality if your child has either need. Graduation rates and high school achievement data are not available because the school has not yet served grades ten through twelve.
The immediate neighborhood is Northeast Philadelphia, a mostly residential area with varied commercial corridors and a growing but still modest amount of new construction. Housing values in the local ZIP code are modest relative to the state and national median, and rents have inched down slightly in recent months. The location sits on Roosevelt Boulevard, a major arterial; the school's accessibility by transit and by car should be confirmed with the family's own transportation situation.
MaST III underwent charter renewal in 2023, which secured its continued operation. The school publicly emphasizes a science and technology focus, though curriculum documents and program details were not available to review in depth. Parents interested in this school should visit, ask about class size and teacher experience, request examples of student work, and press on the specific teaching approaches in reading and math given the proficiency data. The structure of moving families through K-12 together is a genuine differentiator in the Philadelphia charter landscape; whether it is the right fit depends on whether the academic program aligns with your child's needs and your family's lottery odds.
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