More Newark Charter Students Are Speaking 2 Languages–And Succeeding In The Classroom, Data Shows

NEWARK, NJ — The number of students who grow up speaking two or more languages is climbing at charter schools in Newark – and many of them are doing well in the classroom, new data shows.

A recent study analyzes statistics on multilingual learners (MLL) from the New Jersey Department of Education in concert with Newark Common App, an online enrollment portal for public charter schools in the city.

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The number of MLL students has been rapidly growing in Newark's charter schools: the student population has jumped from 0.73 percent (114 students) in 2015-2016 to 5.6 percent (1,215 students) for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Meanwhile, these students have been cracking the books and been rewarded with academic success. State test data shows that MLLs in charter schools are achieving at nearly twice the level as their peers in the state or in district schools.

Other highlights from the dataset included:

• There are record numbers of families applying in Spanish and Portuguese on Newark Common App this year with the share of families identifying Spanish or Portuguese as their primary language growing from 7% three years ago to 11% in 2026
• From last year to this year, the share of Newark Common App applications from multilingual learners in general increased from 10% to 14%

"As a former multilingual learner myself, the power in these numbers is inspiring," Andrade said.

"The data also match the conversations we've had with dozens of charter families who tell me how quickly their children are advancing in their charter schools, reading and writing in two languages as they gain confidence in their new skills," Andrade said.

While data is more limited on outcomes for former multilingual learners, more than 70 percent of former MLL students in charter schools were proficient in ELA in 2025. Meanwhile, MLL students in charter schools also demonstrate strong growth, with a median student growth percentile of 61 – meaning that most are growing academically at a faster rate than their peers across the state.

"This is not to diminish the solid work of the Newark Public School District, many of whom are also serving large populations of English learners with great success," said Maria Andrade, chief of school support at Newark Common App.

"What is important about this data is that we can say that charters are continuing to positively add to the many great choices that families have for a public district or charter education in Newark," Andrade said.

"This data shows that the public education ecosystem for Newark families learning English is getting stronger," Andrade added.

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