Newark Central School District

The Newark Central School District in New York serves 5 schools, including 3 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. The district faces significant challenges, with consistently low academic performance across the schools and socioeconomic barriers that contribute to higher rates of chronic absenteeism and dropout.

Newark Senior High School stands out with a relatively high graduation rate of 82.8%, though still below the state average, and a high dropout rate of 9.2%. The school also has a high chronic absenteeism rate of 38% and the highest per-student spending of $21,180 among the district's schools. In contrast, Newark Middle School has significantly lower academic performance compared to state averages across ELA, Math, and Science assessments, as well as the lowest student-teacher ratio at 8.9.

The elementary schools, such as Norman R Kelley Intermediate School, perform slightly better than the middle school but still lag behind state averages. The district's schools have a predominantly white student population, ranging from 63.55% to 67.94%, with a relatively high percentage of Hispanic students, ranging from 14.78% to 18.09%. The percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch is also high, ranging from 43.35% to 61.5%, indicating significant socioeconomic challenges faced by the district's families. Addressing these issues through a comprehensive, data-driven approach could lead to meaningful improvements in student outcomes across the Newark Central School District.