Central Park School For Children

The Central Park School For Children is the only school in this data set, serving grades K–8 in Durham, NC, with 585 students enrolled. This single-school district, also named Central Park School For Children, operates as a charter LEA. Because there is no other school for direct comparison, the insights below focus on how this school performs against North Carolina state averages, grade by grade and subject by subject.

The school has clear strengths. Reading is its best subject, with an average proficiency of 60% in 2025–2026, above the state’s 56%. Eighth grade stands out: Reading proficiency reached 70.4% versus 56.1% statewide, and Science reached 75.9% versus 68.6%, both substantial advantages. Chronic absenteeism is also a positive—only 15.9% compared to the state’s 24.2%, and the student-teacher ratio is a favorable 12.4:1. However, there are serious concerns in mathematics. In 2025–2026, every grade level scored below the state average in math, with 6th grade the lowest at 41.8% proficiency versus 59.2% statewide—a gap of 17.4 points. Fifth grade is a persistent weakness, as these students scored below state averages in all three tested subjects (math, reading, and science) in both 2024–2025 and 2025–2026. The school’s state ranking has fallen steadily from the 65th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 40th percentile in 2025–2026, and its star rating dropped from 3 to 2 stars.

Overall, this is a school with strong reading and upper-grade science outcomes, excellent attendance, and small class sizes, yet it is struggling significantly in math across all grade levels, especially in grades 5 and 6. The schoolwide average went from slightly above the state overall in 2024–2025 to below the state in 2025–2026, driven largely by the math decline. For parents, the key takeaway is that while the school provides a supportive environment and succeeds in reading, families should pay close attention to math instruction and consider seeking additional help, particularly around the 5th and 6th grade transition. The 8th grade results suggest the school can produce strong outcomes for older students, so addressing the middle-grade math gap would likely help reverse the downward ranking trend.