Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Michelle Obama Elementary School

Q: Is Michelle Obama Elementary School a good school?

Michelle Obama Elementary School ranks 264 th of 1347 New Jersey elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

264^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,347 New Jersey Elementary Schools

Better than 80% of New Jersey elementary schools

Summary

Michelle Obama Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Newark, New Jersey, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 169 students. The school is part of the Newark Public School District, which is ranked 534 out of 609 districts in New Jersey and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Michelle Obama Elementary School is a high-performing school, particularly for its students. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's 3rd-grade English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency rate was 79.4%, compared to 27.7% for the district and 44.9% for the state. Similarly, the school's 4th-grade Mathematics proficiency rate was 92.3%, compared to 23.4% for the district and 46.7% for the state. The school's performance is especially strong for African American students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, ranking 4th and 14th, respectively, out of all New Jersey elementary schools in these subgroups.

While the school has seen a decrease in chronic absenteeism rates over the past few years, from 16.6% in 2022-2023 to 7.8% in 2023-2024, the rates are still higher than the state average. The school's spending per student ($11,554 in 2018-2019) is higher than some of the nearby schools, such as Harriet Tubman Elementary School ($9,921 in 2018-2019) and Thirteenth Avenue School ($10,835 in 2018-2019), suggesting that the school may have access to more resources to support student learning.

198

Students ?

11.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

85.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

186 14th Avenue
Newark, NJ 07103

(973) 662-2621

District: Newark Public School District

Racial breakdown:

African American:

81.8%

Hispanic:

15.2%

Two or more races:

2.5%

See top rated New Jersey elementary schools

Compare Michelle Obama Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 21st percentile in 2023 → 80th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the New Jersey average (71% vs 46% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 20% of New Jersey elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 59 percentile points since 2023

Worth a look

!Science scores 13 pts below the New Jersey average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school71%

District avg25%

New Jersey avg46%

264^th of 1,347

New Jersey public elementary schools ?

Top 20%▲ up 59 pts since 2023

From bottom 21% (2023) to top 20% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

534^th of 609Newark Public School District among New Jersey districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	81.6	264 of 1347	80.4%	★★★★☆
2023	21.9	1060 of 1342	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	99.6	4 of 463	99.1%	★★★★★
2023	41.3	263 of 463	43.2%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	85.6	181 of 1326	86.3%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	98.8	14 of 1023	98.6%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	85.4	164 of 1318	87.6%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2025)99th percentile+19 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)99th percentile+18 vs school

Male (2025)88th percentile+7 vs school

Female (2025)86th percentile+6 vs school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics76%+29 vs state

English Language Arts76%+26 vs state

Science17%-13 vs state

★

No ratings yet

Be the first to rate Michelle Obama Elementary School and help other families decide.

Rate Michelle Obama Elementary School

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.

Schools Near Michelle Obama Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				NJSLA-S Science (2025)		NJSLA English Language Arts (2025)						NJSLA Mathematics (2025)						Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NJSLA-S Science 5th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 8th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 4th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 5th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 6th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 7th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 8th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 3rd Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 4th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 5th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 6th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 7th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Michelle Obama Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	186 14th Avenue	Newark	07103	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 662-2621	198	18	11.0	85.4%	0 (0.0%)	162 (81.8%)	30 (15.2%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.5%)	81.6	264^th of 1347 public elementary schools	80.4%					(n/a)	16.7		79.4	76.9	66.6				67.7	92.3	83.3
Camden Street Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	281 Camden St	Newark	07103	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 733-6994	685	44	15.5	86.0%	6 (0.9%)	360 (52.6%)	308 (45.0%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	5 (0.7%)	5.1	1322^nd of 1347 public elementary schools	1.9%		6.1	1296^th of 1338 public elementary schools	3.1%	26	1.9	1.7	13.2	11.1	11.8	14.3	33.9	25.5	15.9	4.3	7.7	2.7	12.1	0.0	$13,034	$966	$12,068
Thirteenth Avenue School	Public	PK, KG-8	359 Thirteenth Ave	Newark	07103	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 733-7045	833	52	16.0	68.7%	2 (0.2%)	370 (44.4%)	438 (52.6%)	6 (0.7%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (1.7%)	5.7	1312^th of 1347 public elementary schools	2.6%		6.8	1286^th of 1338 public elementary schools	3.9%	26	3.1	5.1	13.1	9.4	17.0	25.0	28.0	20.0	6.3	2.7	6.3	8.2	7.8	2.8	$10,835	$1,067	$9,768
Harriet Tubman Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	504 S Tenth St	Newark	07103	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 733-6934	298	26	11.4	84.2%	0 (0.0%)	255 (85.6%)	36 (12.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.7%)	12.6	1207^th of 1347 public elementary schools	10.4%		13.4	1177^th of 1338 public elementary schools	12.0%	30	3.8	4.0	12.0	52.9	18.5	30.3	25.0	29.2	16.0	29.4	15.4	5.9	16.7	2.3	$9,921	$469	$9,452
Sir Isaac Newton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	150 Newton Street	Newark	07103	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 733-8675	225	15	15.5	73.3%	3 (1.3%)	151 (67.1%)	59 (26.2%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.0%)	50.7	673^rd of 1347 public elementary schools	50.0%					(n/a)	25.0		54.8	53.3	65.0				45.2	20.0	50.0
Grover Cleveland Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	388 Bergen St	Newark	07103	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 733-6944	321	22	14.5	76.9%	1 (0.3%)	232 (72.3%)	86 (26.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	8.3	1280^th of 1347 public elementary schools	5.0%		7.6	1273^rd of 1338 public elementary schools	4.9%	7	0.0	5.6	38.1	15.1	3.0	29.7	21.2	38.8	14.3	6.0	3.0	8.1	6.1	13.9	$11,554	$624	$10,930
New Horizons Community Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	45 59 Hayes Street	Newark	07103	Essex County	New Horizons Community Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 848-0400	370	31	11.9	99.2%	0 (0.0%)	265 (71.6%)	101 (27.3%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14.7	1178^th of 1347 public elementary schools	12.5%		14.8	1150^th of 1338 public elementary schools	14.1%	28	9.1	3.6	30.6	28.6	14.6	32.6	27.8	50.0	28.0	17.4	22.8	10.9	20.0	10.5	$12,066	$904	$11,162
South 17th Street School	Public	PK, KG-8	619 S Seventeenth St	Newark	07103	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 374-2570	368	29	12.6	90.8%	5 (1.4%)	225 (61.1%)	129 (35.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	17.9	1131^st of 1347 public elementary schools	16.0%		13.9	1167^th of 1338 public elementary schools	12.8%	36	5.9	7.4	34.6	40.0	17.6	26.4	21.2	40.7	26.9	22.6	39.4	8.8	12.8	22.2	$11,770	$879	$10,891
Grove Street Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	602 Grove Street	Irvington	07111	Essex County	Irvington Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 399-6865	443	28	15.8	90.3%	0 (0.0%)	351 (79.2%)	92 (20.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11.3	1225^th of 1347 public elementary schools	9.1%		13.1	1181^st of 1338 public elementary schools	11.7%	44	2.8		18.2	28.8	31.0				21.4	21.0	15.5				$9,455	$166	$9,289
Fourteenth Avenue School	Public	PK, KG-8	26 Speedway Ave	Newark	07106	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 733-6940	104	15	6.9	87.5%	3 (2.9%)	68 (65.4%)	30 (28.8%)	2 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)								(n/a)															$29,814	$844	$28,970

Frequently Asked Questions about Michelle Obama Elementary School

How many students attend Michelle Obama Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 198 students attended Michelle Obama Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Michelle Obama Elementary School?

Students at Michelle Obama Elementary School are 82% African American, 15% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

Is Michelle Obama Elementary School a good school?

Michelle Obama Elementary School ranks 264^th of 1347 New Jersey elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What district is Michelle Obama Elementary School in?

Newark Public School District

Rate Michelle Obama Elementary School!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

NJNew Jersey Elementary School Rankings

NJNew Jersey District Rankings

Schools in Newark, NJ

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Michelle Obama Elementary School!

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the New Jersey Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.