North Star Academy Charter School of Newark
Address
Newark, New Jersey

United States
Coordinates40°44′33″N 74°10′12″W / 40.7425°N 74.170°W / 40.7425; -74.170
Information
TypeCharter school
Established1997[1][2]
AuthorityUncommon Schools, Inc.
New Jersey Department of Education[1]
NCES School ID340002400289[3]
Faculty333.0 FTEs[3]
GradesK-12
Enrollment6,287 (as of 2021–22)[3]
Student to teacher ratio18.9:1[3]
Color(s)  Blue
  gray and
  white[4]
Team nameKnights[4]
Websitenorthstar.uncommonschools.org

North Star Academy Charter School of Newark is a charter school located in Newark, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, that educates students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. One of the initial group of 17 charter schools approved in January 1997, with plans to begin with classes for fifth and sixth grades,[5] the school was recognized by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program in 2010.

In 2004, North Star Academy College Preparatory High School graduated its first senior class consisting of 19 students, all of whom were accepted into accredited four-year universities.

As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 6,287 students and 333.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 18.9:1. There were 4,676 students (74.4% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 698 (11.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[3]

North Star Academy has 13 campuses: six elementary schools, five middle schools (Clinton Hill, Vailsburg, Central Avenue, Downtown and West Side Park) and two high schools (Washington Park and Lincoln Park).[6]

In 2000, New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman and then-Governor of Texas George W. Bush toured the school, hailing it as an example of reform.[2]

Awards and recognition

For the 2010 school year, the school was honored as a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education, the highest award granted to American schools.[7][8]

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 11th in New Jersey and 507th nationwide.[9]

In 2008, North Star Academy was awarded a Bronze Medal in the U.S. News & World Report/SchoolMatters ranking of Best High Schools.[10]

In 2015, U.S. News & World Report ranked North Star Academy 8th in its list of top-ranked New Jersey high schools.[11]

Schooldigger.com ranked the school as one of 16 schools tied for first out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 38 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy (100.0%) and mathematics (100.0%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).[12]

In 2014, NSA High School principal Michael Mann received the Ryan Award for best urban principal in the country, one of three principals nationwide to be recognized by the Accelerate Institute.[13]

Influences

North Star on Central Avenue in Downtown Newark

Due to North Star Academy's success in urban district areas other schools have adopted some of their ideas in managing challenging students and have even modeled themselves after it. One such school is Foundation Academy Charter School located in Trenton, New Jersey which was established in 2007.[14]

Athletics

The North Star Academy Knights[4] compete athletically under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[15] With 739 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.[16]

The Knights began the season on a nine-game winning streak. The North Star Knights won the Conference Championship against Lyndhurst High School by a score of 63–57, to bring North Star its first ever basketball championship. They went on to compete in the state tournament against Bernards High School, winning 53–48. Their streak ended when they lost to Hackettstown High School, 43–40.

References

  1. 1 2 "North Star Academy". greatschools.net. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Newman, Maria. "Newark School Shows Off Educational Approach", The New York Times, March 30, 2000. Accessed March 28, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 School data for North Star Academy Charter School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 North Star Academy Charter, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  5. ↑ "17 Recipes for Charter Schools That Won State Seal of Approval", The New York Times, January 19, 1997. Accessed February 19, 2020. "North Star Academy: Unlike most charter schools, which will start with the youngest children, North Star Academy in its first year will teach 72 fifth and sixth graders. By 1999 it plans to teach fifth through eighth grades, with 144 students, no more than 18 in a class."
  6. ↑ Campuses, North Star Academy Charter School of Newark. Accessed January 5, 2017.
  7. ↑ 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private, United States Department of Education. Accessed June 26, 2011.
  8. ↑ North Star Academy Charter School of Newark, 2010 - Blue Ribbon Schools Program application, United States Department of Education. Accessed June 26, 2011.
  9. ↑ Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: North Star", The Washington Post. Accessed July 24, 2011.
  10. ↑ "North Star Academy CS Of Newark". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Best High Schools in New Jersey". U.S. News & World Report.
  12. ↑ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 23, 2012.
  13. ↑ McGlone, Peggy. "Newark charter school principal honored with national leadership award", The Star-Ledger, June 3, 2014. Accessed August 23, 2014.
  14. ↑ Colon, Rose Y. (April 20, 2007). "This school aims to break all the rules". The Times. pp. A06. To serve Newark children by building an uncommon school where students partake of a rigorous, 11-month, extended day, academic program that gives them the means to beat the odds in school and life.
  15. ↑ League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  16. ↑ NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
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