East Side Charter School

East Side Charter School is a single K-8 charter school in Wilmington, Delaware, serving 434 students as its own district, and it faces significant academic challenges despite above-average per-student spending of $18,093.

This school shows a striking pattern where performance improves dramatically as students advance in grade level. In English Language Arts, proficiency climbs from just 8.47% in 3rd grade to 40.82% in 8th grade—nearly matching the state average of 41.44%. The 8th grade class is a genuine bright spot, actually exceeding the state average in Social Studies (39.13% vs. 37.84%) and nearly matching it in ELA. However, this same cohort saw a massive 23-point drop in Math proficiency from the prior year, falling to 20.41%. The 3rd grade represents the school's most critical weakness, with only 8.47% proficient in ELA and 10.53% in Math—both roughly 30 points below state averages. Social Studies shows the most promise overall, with 7th grade improving by an impressive 20.72 points year-over-year to reach 46.43% proficiency.

Chronic absenteeism is a systemic concern, with 35.1% of students chronically absent—more than double the state rate of 17.1%—which likely compounds learning gaps. The school's ranking has declined sharply, dropping from the 23rd percentile in 2024-2025 to the 8th percentile in 2025-2026, with its star rating falling from 1 star to 0 stars. Despite spending $18,093 per student, outcomes remain below state averages across most subjects and grades, raising questions about resource allocation. The positive year-over-year gains in 7th grade Social Studies and ELA suggest targeted interventions in middle grades can work, but the school needs to address foundational skills in early elementary and tackle absenteeism to reverse its concerning trajectory.