I have traveled all across the nation, and at every turn I have bragged about your accomplishments and the example you set for our nation. You, young men and women of North Star, are the greatest example of the power that we have to reach the greatest heights. You have shined and given others the hope to shine as well. Parents across the city constantly approach me and talk about North Star as the mecca of hope and college promise for their children. North Star is one of the most inspiring teams I have ever witnessed. 

- Cory Booker, addressing the North Star student body, June 2006


 On our fall school tour of 15 excellent charter schools in NJ, NY, CT, and MA, one school that absolutely stood out to our Fellows…is North Star. North Star is living, breathing proof that urban education does work, can work, and the real inspiration that North Star gave to our Fellows cannot be overstated. The sad fact is that there are so few schools doing transformative urban education so well. 

- Sue Walsh, Building Excellent Schools Network, October 2004

 

North Star's Elementary School is extraordinary! It's easily the best elementary school I've ever visited - head and shoulders above all the others. I was so moved to the energy, the kids, the curriculum, the chants, the behavior, the achievement levels, and the teachers. And 

[the principal] is just amazing. Congratulations on a ground-breaking achievement. You and your colleagues are truly changing the face of American education.

- Kim Marshall, Publisher of the Marshall Memo, June 2008


 I describe North Star as the best school in Newark, the best school in New Jersey, the best school ever. If my child were not at North Star, I personally believe that he would be six feet under due to gang activities. Instead, North Star has allowed my child to shine and grow, not being lost in the crowd. It is an outstanding school with our children at heart. 

- Anonymous Parent Survey Response, July 2005


NORTH STAR ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL OF NEWARK is one of New Jersey's very first charter public schools, and after a decade has also become one of its most celebrated. North Star was hailed by President George W. Bush during his visit as "a jewel of excellence," and the Class of 2004 (100% college matriculation) was touted by the New York Times as a harbinger of New Jersey public education reform. The school and its programs have been featured in a PBS Documentary ("Charter Schools that Work"), Time Magazine ("A Real School of Rock"), and in the recently published book No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning. By next year, the school will serve over 900 students in grades K-2 and 5-12 over four campuses: one elementary school, two middle schools and a high school.




To serve Newark children by building an uncommon school where students partake of a rigorous, 11-month, extended day, academic program that gives them the means to beat the odds in school and life.

To shape an intimate, supportive, engaging school community - where classes are small and personalized; where parents are partners; where teachers teach with passion and commitment; and where all the adults model - and all the students develop and live - the values of caring, respect, honesty, justice, and self-discipline.

To generate for students a transforming experience at an age when they are forging their very identities and lifetime aspirations; and to cultivate in them the belief that they are the masters of their own destinies: each one worthy of greatness and goodness, each one capable of - and responsible for - serving the community and the world around them.