Summary:
The schools in zip code 08638 serve a predominantly minority and economically disadvantaged student population, with 7 schools across two school districts - Ewing Township School District and Trenton Public School District. While the charter schools, such as Paul Robeson Charter School for the Humanities and The Village Charter School, demonstrate relatively strong academic performance, the traditional public schools in the area, like William L Antheil Elementary School, struggle with low proficiency rates, high chronic absenteeism, and significant funding disparities.
The charter schools in this area stand out, with the Paul Robeson Charter School for the Humanities boasting the highest test scores, including 50% or more of students proficient in English Language Arts and a 76.9% Algebra I proficiency rate. However, these charter schools also serve populations with extremely high rates of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 92.48% to 97.69%. In contrast, the traditional public schools, such as Wilson Elementary School, have proficiency rates often below 10%, indicating a significant need for improvement.
Across the schools in this area, chronic absenteeism is a major concern, with several schools reporting rates over 30%, including the highest rate of 40.7% at Wilson Elementary. The wide range in spending per student, from under $10,000 to over $16,000, also raises questions about the relationship between funding and school performance in this context. Overall, the data highlights the challenges faced by schools serving high-poverty, minority student populations, while also revealing the potential for charter schools to achieve stronger academic results in this area.
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