South 17th Street School

Set in NEWARK, New Jersey, South 17th Street School is a mid-tier elementary school, part of Newark Public School District. It caters to 368 students across grades pre-K through 8.

Within Newark Public School District, which oversees 65 schools and 41,502 students, South 17th Street School is one campus in the system.

Demographically, South 17th Street School shows that the largest single group is Black, at 61% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school reports 35% Hispanic. The wider county runs roughly 36% Black, putting the school's mix noticeably more Black than the area baseline.

On the resource side, South 17th Street School reports 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.7:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 11.4:1 average. About 91% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Essex County (around 54%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), South 17th Street School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 16.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 21.6%.

Zooming out to the county, Essex County reports that median household income runs about $80,789, roughly 39% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Essex County runs 249 public schools (combined enrollment of about 145,473 students), of which South 17th Street School is one.

Grove Street Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around South 17th Street School. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), South 17th Street School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, below the local average of 22.3%.

The school occupies an inner-city site.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count shrank 24%: 482 students in 2018 compared to 368 in 2025. The Black share of enrollment contracted from 85% to 61% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 15.1:1 in 2018 to 12.7:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.