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What do students at Shelia Y. Oliver Academy actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
413
Elementary
DISTRICT 329 · STATE 405
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EAST ORANGE SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 340423002046
Shelia Y. Oliver Academy
404 North Grove Street, EAST ORANGE, NJ 07017 · (973) 266-5860 · Essex County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL413 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 11% of New Jersey public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded New Jersey public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.5:1 · STATE 11.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
15%
61 students
DISTRICT 19% · STATE 41%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 56 | 14% |
| Kindergarten | 47 | 11% |
| Grade 1 | 42 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 39 | 9% |
| Grade 3 | 46 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 38 | 9% |
| Grade 5 | 49 | 12% |
| Grade 6 | 34 | 8% |
| Grade 7 | 34 | 8% |
| Grade 8 | 28 | 7% |
This year's kindergarten class (47) is 68% larger than its 8th grade class (28).
Student demographics
36%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Shelia Y. Oliver Academy→East Orange Campus High School
Based on grade levels within East Orange School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NJSLA 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
49.4%
NJ avg 53.1% . +6.8pp since 2023
Math
28.7%
NJ avg 41.6% . +6.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 29 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Jersey schools, those numbers are about 53 and 42. Reading and writing scores are up about 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 49.4% | 28.7% |
| 2023-24 | 42.6% | 21.9% |
% Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: NJSLA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of NJ schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
31.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.1%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-26.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 58% typical for New Jersey schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Shelia Y. Oliver Academy
Shelia Y. Oliver Academy's state test result (31.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelia Y. Oliver Academy this school | 413 | 14.8% | 31.9% |
| Whitney E. Houston Academy EAST ORANGE | 385 | 14.0% | 27.1% |
| Ecole Toussaint Louverture EAST ORANGE | 269 | 21.9% | 21.9% |
| Gordon Parks Academy EAST ORANGE | 268 | 23.5% | N/A |
| Mildred Barry Garvin Elementary EAST ORANGE | 245 | 12.7% | 22.3% |
| Benjamin Banneker Preparatory Charter School Willingboro | 356 | 48.0% | 23.1% |
Matched among New Jersey elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Shelia Y. Oliver Academy ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Essex County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.9% | #922 of 1,290 | #75 of 131 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 28.7% | #1,002 of 1,319 ▲ 56 | #78 of 141 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.4% | #723 of 1,319 ▲ 109 | #75 of 141 ▲ 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 413 | #659 of 1,562 | #83 of 162 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.8:1 | #1,205 of 1,390 | #87 of 140 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 36.2% | #1,138 of 1,392 | #105 of 141 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 14.8% | #1,139 of 1,481 | #103 of 142 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +29.5% | #61 of 545 | #9 of 61 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
413
+88 (+27%) vs 2020
-42% since 1990-91, when it was 712
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
was 12.0:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 413 | 30 | 13.8:1 | 15% (61) |
| 2023-24 | 438 | 31 | 14.1:1 | 66% (288) |
| 2022-23 | 443 | 31 | 14.3:1 | 63% (279) |
| 2020-21 | 325 | 27 | 12.0:1 | 61% (198) |
| 2017-18 | 319 | 28 | 11.4:1 | 59% (189) |
| 2015-16 | 381 | 34 | 11.2:1 | 66% (252) |
| 2010-11 | 453 | 41 | 11.1:1 | 73% (329) |
| 2000-01 | 596 | 45 | 13.2:1 | 77% (461) |
| 1990-91 | 712 | 40 | 17.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Shelia Y. Oliver Academy.
Since 2017-18: students up 29% (319 to 413); teachers up 7% (28 to 30).
About Shelia Y. Oliver Academy
Shelia Y. Oliver Academy is a medium-sized elementary school in EAST ORANGE, New Jersey, one of the schools in East Orange School District. The school counts 413 students across pre-K through 8.
East Orange School District has 8,348 students in 19 schools, and Shelia Y. Oliver Academy is one of those schools.
Black students account for 78% of enrollment at Shelia Y. Oliver Academy. Other groups include 16% Hispanic, 2% multiracial, and 2% White. The county population is about 36% Black. Shelia Y. Oliver Academy has a diversity index of 36%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
With 30 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Shelia Y. Oliver Academy was 13.8:1. Among elementary schools in New Jersey, the typical ratio is 11.4:1. Shelia Y. Oliver Academy's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 15%. Across public schools in Essex County, the average is 54%.
allk12 grades Shelia Y. Oliver Academy a D. The grade compares the school only with New Jersey public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Shelia Y. Oliver Academy is a bottom-10% school in New Jersey on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 31.9% against a predicted 58.1%.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Essex County show that median household income is about $80,789, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 39%, and about 11% of people live in poverty. Shelia Y. Oliver Academy is one of 249 public schools in Essex County, which together enroll about 145,473 students.
The closest other public school is Patrick F. Healy Middle School, about 0.5 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools average 15.8% on proficiency, and Shelia Y. Oliver Academy is above that at 31.9%.
NCES assigns Shelia Y. Oliver Academy the locale Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
The 2024-25 enrollment of 413 was 27% higher than in 2020-21, when it was 325. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (13.8:1) than in 2020-21 (12.0:1).
Parents and students can post about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Shelia Y. Oliver Academy. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Essex County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
863,002
Census ACS
Median income
$80,789
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
249
145,473 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in East Orange School District
- East Orange Campus High SchoolHigh · 1,798 students
- Cicely L. Tyson Community Middle/High SchoolHigh · 701 students
- East Orange STEM Academy High SchoolHigh · 646 students
- Edward T. Bowser Sr. School of ExcellenceElementary · 612 students
- Langston Hughes Elementary SchoolElementary · 554 students
- Cicely L. Tyson Community Elementary SchoolElementary · 481 students
Other schools in EAST ORANGE
- East Orange Campus High SchoolHigh · 1,798 students
- Cicely L. Tyson Community Middle/High SchoolHigh · 701 students
- East Orange STEM Academy High SchoolHigh · 646 students
- Edward T. Bowser Sr. School of ExcellenceElementary · 612 students
- Langston Hughes Elementary SchoolElementary · 554 students
- Cicely L. Tyson Community Elementary SchoolElementary · 481 students
Nearby schools
- Patrick F. Healy Middle School0.5 mi · 322
- Sojourner Truth Middle School0.5 mi · 264
- John L. Costley Middle School0.5 mi · 334
- East Orange STEM Academy High School0.6 mi · 646
- Edward T. Bowser Sr. School of Excellence0.6 mi · 612
- East Orange Campus High School0.6 mi · 1,798
Frequently asked questions
About Shelia Y. Oliver AcademyWhat is the total enrollment at Shelia Y. Oliver Academy?
Shelia Y. Oliver Academy enrolls approximately 413 students in grades PK-08.
What age range does Shelia Y. Oliver Academy serve?
Shelia Y. Oliver Academy serves students from grade PK through grade 08.
How many teachers does Shelia Y. Oliver Academy have?
Shelia Y. Oliver Academy employs 30 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.8:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Shelia Y. Oliver Academy?
At Shelia Y. Oliver Academy, the student body is approximately 2% White, 16% Hispanic, 78% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Shelia Y. Oliver Academy?
Shelia Y. Oliver Academy is overseen by East Orange School District in Essex County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.