STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges

South Orange · NJ · ORANGE BOARD OF EDUCATION School District · Public


📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 3 AP courses offered — Strong
  • ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
  • 🔢 8 calculus classes · 5 physics · 5 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 59th percentile nationally
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 54th percentile by test-taker volume

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges compares for families

Solid mid-tier academic profile.

  • StatewideAP rigor at the 59th percentile nationally with 3 AP courses.
  • LocallyNJ students outperform the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math (+12 points).
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Eagle Academy for Young Men of Newark, John F. Kennedy School, Newark School of Fashion & Design and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.

🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Strong — solid AP program + advanced courses

59th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
3
Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
87
≈48 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
8
8 calculus · 0 advanced
Lab science classes
10
5 physics · 5 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ Dual-enrollment program
✅ Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

54th percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
80
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
44.4
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🏛️ Federal Title I context

Title I Schoolwide eligible

≥40% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Schoolwide program

71.1%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

40-74% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The district can use Title I funds across the whole school under federal Schoolwide Program rules.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

🏛️ Your state's public flagship

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

65%
admit rate
$17,929
in-state tuition/yr · $37,441 out-of-state
1270–1480
SAT 25–75 · ACT 28–33

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $24,406/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full Rutgers University-New Brunswick profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
0.6%
Below 10% — strong attendance culture. Chronic absence is a leading indicator of dropout and disengagement; a low rate signals families staying connected to the school.
Students absent 15+ days
1
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: A low chronic-absence rate is the cleanest school-level signal of strong family connection, classroom culture, and student engagement — all upstream drivers of enrollment stability.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
180:1
Below the ASCA 250:1 recommendation — strong capacity for college planning, course selection, and student supports.
Counselor FTE
1.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
18
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +3.2%/year, projecting from 2024's 180 students:

2025
186
2027
198
2029
211

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Eagle Academy for Young Men of Newark
Newark
Public 3.5 155 +14.8%
John F. Kennedy School
NEWARK
Public 2.8 143
Newark School of Fashion & Design
Newark
Public 4.7 275 +183.5%
People's Achieve Community Charter School
Newark
Public · charter 3.4 306 -6.4%
LEAD Charter School
Newark
Public · charter 3.2 333 +100.6%
NJ Regional Day School - Newark
NEWARK
Public 3.4 97
East Orange STEM Academy High School
EAST ORANGE
Public 3.0 377 +15.6%
Cicely L. Tyson Community Middle/High School
EAST ORANGE
Public 2.2 398 -1.5%

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