The Gray Charter School

As a compact primary school in NEWARK, New Jersey, The Gray Charter School enrolls 317 students from grades K through 8, operated by Gray Charter School. Enrollment runs roughly 22% below the state mean of about 405.

Gray Charter School is the operating authority for The Gray Charter School, handling staffing, calendars, and reporting to the state department of education.

On the student-mix side, The Gray Charter School logs that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 62% of enrollment. The remainder consists of 35% Black. That is visibly more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 25%.

In terms of school funding signals, The Gray Charter School lists 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 19.3:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 11.4:1 average. Around 73% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Essex County (around 54%), the school's rate is noticeably above typical.

After controlling for student poverty, The Gray Charter School is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 26.3%; this one delivers 76.4%, a residual of +50.1 points.

In the area at large, ACS estimates for Essex County put the typical household earns roughly $80,789 per year, 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 The Gray Charter School is one.

Great Oaks Legacy Charter School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles from this campus. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), The Gray Charter School ranks 1st on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 31.2%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site. The Gray Charter School operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 6%: 336 students in 2018 compared to 317 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 54% to 62% across the same window.

On the community side, the feed for The Gray Charter School typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.