North Star Academy Charter School

North Star Academy Charter School of Newark
Location
North Star Academy Charter School of Newark
North Star Academy Charter School of Newark
North Star Academy Charter School of Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Coordinates 40°44′33″N 74°10′12″W / 40.7425°N 74.170°W / 40.7425; -74.170
Information
Type Charter school
Established 1997[1][2]
Authority Uncommon Schools, Inc.
New Jersey Department of Education[1]
Faculty 236.8 (on FTE basis)[3]
Grades K-12
Enrollment 2,685[3] (as of 2013-14)
Student to teacher ratio 11.3:1[3]
Color(s)      Blue
     Gray and
     White[4]
Team name Knights[4]
Website http://northstar.uncommonschools.org/

North Star Academy Charter School of Newark is a charter school located in Newark, New Jersey, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, that educates students in Kindergarten through twelfth grade. 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 2013-14 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,685 students and 236.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.3:1. There were 1,827 students (68.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 419 (15.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[3]

North Star Academy has five campuses: three middle schools (Clinton Hill, Vailsburg and Downtown Middle Schools), one Elementary School (Vailsburg) and a high school located in downtown Newark.

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.[5][6]

In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 11th in New Jersey and 507th nationwide.[7]

In 2008, North Star Academy was awarded a Bronze Medal in the U.S. News & World Report/SchoolMatters ranking of Best High Schools.[8]

In 2015, U.S. News & World Report ranked North Star Academy 8th in top ranked New Jersey high schools.[9]

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).[10]

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.[11]

Influences

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.[12]

Athletics

The North Star Academy Knights[4] compete athletically under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[13][14] With 324 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2014-15 school year as North II, Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 61 to 478 students in that grade range.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 "North Star Academy". greatschools.net. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
  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 School Data for North Star Academy Charter Schools of Newark, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed May 31, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 North Star Academy Charter, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 31, 2016.
  5. ↑ 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private, United States Department of Education. Accessed June 26, 2011.
  6. ↑ North Star Academy Charter School of Newark, 2010 - Blue Ribbon Schools Program application, United States Department of Education. Accessed June 26, 2011.
  7. ↑ Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: North Star", The Washington Post. Accessed July 24, 2011.
  8. ↑ "North Star Academy CS Of Newark". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  9. ↑ http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/new-jersey
  10. ↑ New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 23, 2012.
  11. ↑ McGlone, Peggy. "Newark charter school principal honored with national leadership award", The Star-Ledger, June 3, 2014. Accessed August 23, 2014.
  12. ↑ Colon, Rose Y. (April 20, 2007). "This school aims to break all the rules". The Times (Trenton). 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.
  13. ↑ North Star Academy Charter, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed March 28, 2015.
  14. ↑ League Memberships – 2015-2016, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 31, 2016.
  15. ↑ 2014-2015 Public Schools Group Classification: ShopRite Cup–Basketball–Baseball–Softball for North II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, as of July 8, 2014. Accessed November 23, 2014.
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