Shelia Y. Oliver Academy

As a mid-sized primary school in EAST ORANGE, New Jersey, Shelia Y. Oliver Academy educates 413 students from grades pre-K through 8, operated by East Orange School District.

Across the 19 schools in East Orange School District (8,348 students total), Shelia Y. Oliver Academy accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

On the student-mix side, Shelia Y. Oliver Academy shows that Black students make up the majority at 78%. Other groups include 16% Hispanic, 2% multiracial, 2% White. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 36%.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Shelia Y. Oliver Academy has 30 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.8:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 11.4:1 average. About 15% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is lower than Essex County's rate of about 54%.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Shelia Y. Oliver Academy is in the bottom 10% of New Jersey public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 58.1%; Shelia Y. Oliver Academy posts 31.9%, -26.2 points below that line.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Essex County indicate median household earnings sit near $80,789, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Essex County runs 249 public schools (combined enrollment of about 145,473 students), of which Shelia Y. Oliver Academy is one.

The closest other public school is Patrick F. Healy Middle School, roughly 0.5 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, Shelia Y. Oliver Academy comes 2nd of 7 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 15.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a bedroom-community area.

Looking at the recent track record. Shelia Y. Oliver Academy's enrollment has ticked up 29% since 2018, when it stood at 319 (now 413). Over the same period, the Black share contracted from 90% to 78%. The student-to-teacher ratio widened from 11.4:1 in 2018 to 13.8:1 today.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.