Category: News

North Star Academy seniors, joined by their families and underclassmen, proudly announce their college choices. The Class of 2025 has earned an impressive $9.8 million in full scholarships and grants to top colleges. The excitement evident as seniors danced up to the stage, jumped up and down and shouted in the microphone the names of … Continued

At North Star Academy’s Washington Park High School, seniors in Michael Taubman’s class are diving into how AI could shape their future careers. Through The Summit, a 10-week AI course developed with Stanford University, students explore career pathways while gaining firsthand experience with emerging technologies. Taubman’s goal: to equip students with agency over AI, empowering … Continued

Ahead of Newark’s school board election, 150 North Star Academy students registered to vote, the first time 16- and 17-year-olds can participate. Senior Jibola Omotoyinbo described her new right to vote as a feeling of “adulthood and freedom.” The three winning candidates will join the nine-member board responsible for policies affecting 36,000 students across 64 … Continued

Stanford Digital Education debuted a new project at North Star Academy’s Washington Park High School: a 10-week AI curriculum combining Stanford and Google lesson plans. About 90 students participated in the program, led by Mike Taubman. He emphasized that a key objective of the SDE lessons is to draw students’ attention to the difficult issues … Continued

Eleven North Star Academy seniors have secured full-ride scholarships to prestigious institutions! These students were selected through the QuestBridge National College Match, a highly competitive program connecting high-achieving, low-income students with top colleges. Chosen from a pool of more than 25,500 applicants, they are among just 2,627 finalists nationwide. To read the full story visit … Continued

At North Star Academy’s Liberty Elementary, a student-led newscast on Zoom airs schoolwide, spotlighting diverse cultures and identities. Leading the initiative, third-grade teacher Nia Freeman empowers her students to explore and celebrate difference through delivering the news. “Everyone should have a chance to see their reflection and feel represented,” Freeman said, “while also looking outward … Continued

North Star Academy enrolled 90% of its 2024 graduates in two- or four-year colleges, earning over $5 million in grants and scholarships. Its college counseling model includes early family meetings, weekly seminars, strong Early Decision advising, and alumni support to ensure students persist “to and through” college. North Star’s college completion rate is more than … Continued

Our wonderful 4th graders from North Star Academy -Liberty Elementary School show off their broadcast news skills in their weekly news show! Our teacher, Nia Freeman, helps her students prepare their newscast and covers topics such as Latinx Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, Black History Month, and sometimes even the weather! Read more about this … Continued

Fifty-four percent of North Star Academy’s third graders met grade-level expectations in reading, more than double the district average. How does North Star achieve this high degree of literacy among an at-risk population and sustain it? Julia Worrell, North Star’s K-12 Chief Academic Officer, credits the success to a highly energized, well-prepared team of teachers … Continued

Uncommon Schools’ North Star Academy Washington Park High School award-winning debate team shared their insights with NBC New York on how the presidential candidates performed in the debate! Take a minute to watch and listen to what our future leaders have to say! Read more about this story on NBC New York. 

Families joined us to learn more about our Kindergarten programs at North Star Academy West Side Elementary School! At North Star Academy your child will receive the personalized support they need to succeed from the moment they step foot into our schools. Our principal Keila Fernandez explains how in the article linked below. Read the … Continued

By Jessie Gómez Teachers like Lina Zapata at North Star Academy Washington Park High School are why students thrive at Uncommon Schools. She decided to become the teacher that she needed as a child and support every student on their path to college and beyond. Read the full article at Chalkbeat. 

For North Star Academy Washington Park High School students David and Justin the hard work has paid off!  They are both headed to top colleges like University of Chicago and Amherst College with a full scholarship come fall. They both credit their perseverance through high school, and the support they received from the North Star … Continued

David and Justin from North Star Academy Washington Park High School already know they are headed to University of Chicago and Amherst College with full ride scholarships. These students are recipients of the prestigious QuestBridge Scholarship which provides scholarships through a college match program to attend some of the nation’s most competitive colleges. This year … Continued

North Star Academy in Newark had a record seven graduating seniors who will receive full scholarships through the prestigious QuestBridge National College Match program to attend some of the nation’s most competitive colleges.  North Star had the highest number of QuestBridge recipients among all Newark high schools. More than 20,800 students from across the country … Continued

Nov 2, 2023 At the 50th anniversary of Stanford University’s Structured Liberal Education (SLE) seminar, North Star teacher and Stanford graduate Mike Taubman gave a lecture on “Searching Together for the Common Good” and talked about transposing this course to the high school environment. “The first aspect of SLE’s culture that is powerful for high … Continued

By TAPinto Newark Staff Report | Last Updated April 20, 2023  Corey Madison, a senior at North Star Academy, is making his voice heard. Saying he believed that his school and other public charter schools were being treated unfairly, Madison testified before the New Jersey state assembly budget committee. Check out his testimony here: Read … Continued

By Paula White | Feb. 18, 2023 The fact is that quality literacy instruction is the linchpin variable for our children’s learning. For 2023, let’s give it the focus and boost it deserves. Read more on NJ.com