Summary:
Freire Charter School is the sole school in the Freire Charter School Wilmington district, serving 406 students in grades 8-12 in urban Wilmington, Delaware.
This single charter high school faces significant academic challenges, ranking in the bottom 10% of Delaware high schools for the past three years (5th percentile in 2025-2026). The most alarming metric is mathematics: only 6.76% of students met proficiency standards on the 2024-2025 SAT, compared to 18.4% statewide. Reading and writing scores are also weak, with 11th-grade ELA proficiency at 19.67% and essay scores at 14.55%, both roughly 24-28 points below state averages. Science (10.71%) and social studies (8.33%) proficiency rates are similarly low. The school's graduation rate of 78.8% trails the state average by 10 points, while the dropout rate of 8.9% is more than double the state's 3.9%.
Chronic absenteeism is a major concern, affecting 36.5% of students versus 17.1% statewide—a figure that likely compounds academic struggles. Performance is trending downward in most subjects year-over-year, with essay scores dropping 5.15 points and ELA declining 3.3 points. The one bright spot is 8th-grade social studies, which improved from 8.62% to 14.81% proficiency, suggesting early interventions may be gaining traction. Despite spending $13,729 per student, the school produces outcomes well below state averages, raising questions about program effectiveness. For parents considering this school, the data indicates that most students are not on track for college readiness, and the combination of low proficiency, high absenteeism, and declining trends suggests the need for comprehensive academic and engagement support.
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