Applications Open
for School Year
2025-26!

Apply for Grades K-12.

Applications Open for School Year 2025-26

North Star Academy is a tuition-free K-12 public charter school, and is open to all residents of New Jersey. Families can enroll their child by applying online.

As a free public school open to all students, North Star does not collect application fees, and does not consider test scores, student grades, or any other information for enrollment. We are not a magnet school or private school. We are an exceptional public charter school, serving all students of all abilities.

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Apply for the 2025-26 School Year. Be sure to rank us #1 on your application!

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We would love to speak with you about our schools. Please submit this brief form and a member of our local team will reach out to you soon.

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Enrollment Process

Your child’s pathway to success in college and beyond begins here!

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Accept Offer

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Orientation

First Day!

Nov.—Apr.

young student sitting at desk smiling Submit an application to our tuition-free, award winning charter schools. Families can apply at no cost to any of our 6 Elementary Schools, 6 Middle Schools, and 2 High Schools in Newark, NJ.

Eligibility (k-12)

To be eligible for Kindergarten, your child must be 5 years old by October 1, 2025.
The deadline to apply is March 11, 2025
Offers will be released April 8, 2025
Applications submitted after the deadline will be added to a waitlist, and offers will be made as soon as space is available.

Apply online: www.newarkcommonapp.org or visit anyone of our 14 campuses to speak with Main Office staff to complete an application.

For questions or support email enroll@northstaracademy.org or call us at 973-474-5115

Apply Now!

Oct.—Jun.

2 high school students walking outside Register for a School Tour to view our beautiful campuses and meet our school leaders.

School tour information coming soon!

April

two young students giving a thumbs up In early April, families will be notified if their child won an offer in our Lottery to enroll into a school of their choice.

Families who do not receive an offer in the Lottery will be placed on the waitlist and notified on a rolling basis as seats become available. New offers are made to families on the waitlist as seats become available!

Uncommon Schools is committed to ensuring that all families have an equal opportunity to enroll in our schools and many of our current families enrolled after being pulled from the waitlist!

Accept Offer

Apr.—Jun.

high school students gathered around a laptop Families that receive offers into our schools must complete their school registration forms and provide necessary documentation.

If your child was offered a seat at one of the schools on the application, you must accept the offer in the Newark Common App prior to completing registration to secure your child’s spot at that school. Completing registration includes proving the following documentation:

Three proofs of address
- Transfer Card for non-Newark Residents
Child birth certificate or passport
Immunization records
IEP documentation (if applicable)
Transcripts (HS, Only)

Complete Registration

May—Aug.

Registered families will attend orientation to learn more about the school hours, curriculum, culture, and more. Teacher and two middle school students smiling in a hallway

You school’s main office will communicate details with you directly.

Elementary School Families Orientation: May-June
Middle School Families Orientation: August
High School Families Orientation: August

August

Welcome to Uncommon Schools! Your pathway to and through college begins today!
students with drums and their hands up in the air

Family Resources

Reasons to Choose North Star Academy

From an award-winning curriculum and caring teachers, to a full K-12 experience, here are some reasons why families choose North Star Academy.

Full K-12 Experience

Once you choose North Star Academy, your child can stick with us until they walk across the stage at high school graduation.

Proven Education Model

North Star Academy is one of the top performing charter schools in New Jersey.

See Our Results

Developing the Whole Child

From core academic subjects to electives and extracurriculars, North Star Academy guides students to discover their passions.

The Student Experience

Enrollment FAQs

General Enrollment Questions

There are no enrollment costs to apply to or attend North Star Academy. Please note that there may be minimal fees throughout the school year.

As per our charter, North Star Academy is ONLY open to all residents of New Jersey. Children entering Kindergarten must turn five on or before October 1 of their enrollment year.

You can apply online here. If North Star is your school choice, be sure to rank us #1 on your application!

Siblings of currently enrolled North Star Academy students are given preference for admission over non-sibling applicants. Sibling preference applies to a student who has a sibling already in attendance when they are called off the waitlist. Sibling preference only applies to students who share a common parent through birth or legal adoption and live in the same household. Children who live in separate households are not considered siblings.

Campus placement is not guaranteed due to space limitations. We do, however, make an effort to “zone” students to the campus closest to their home. Campus placement will be communicated during the registration process.

No. There are no academic prerequisites or entrance examinations to be admitted to North Star Academy.

Yes. Children with special needs are encouraged to apply.

At this time, we are not offering in-person school tours. We also encourage you to browse this website. Should you have any questions, please contact our enrollment team.

Questions About the Waitlist

Students who submit an application are placed on waitlists for schools that they ranked higher than their match school.
Families who didn’t apply during the application window can visit Newark Common App or visit any North Star Academy campus to apply to the waitlist.

Siblings of current students, in random order.
Newark residents, in random order.
Non-Newark residents, in random order.

Students on the waitlist are enrolled into our schools as seats become available for the grade in which they have applied. For a seat to become available, a current family must transfer out of our schools. In the event that a current family leaves, we refer to the waitlist and contact families in the order that they appear on the waitlist.

There is no way to foresee when any child might be selected from the waitlist. Students are called from the waitlist in the order that they are listed as spots open up in the schools. We will call all phone numbers on file when your student comes up on the list. Please be sure you update all contact information on your application via Newark Common App.

Yes.

Students on the waitlist must reapply every year through the Newark Common App if they are still interested in attending North Star Academy.

Yes.

Sibling applicants of currently enrolled students are given priority for admission over non-sibling applicants. In the event that there are no available seats, confirmed sibling applicants will be ordered randomly and placed in sequential order based on their randomly assigned number on the top of the waitlist above non-sibling applicants.

Newark Common App

Newark Common App is a new school application and enrollment process that is available to all Newark families looking to access some of our city’s great school options.

You can apply to North Star Academy by completing the Newark Common App. Be sure to rank North Star Academy #1 on your application!

Choosing the right school for your child is now a lot simpler. Newark Common App is a new, innovative, and easy to use K-12 school application and enrollment process for Newark families. With a centralized application process, enrollment lottery, and waitlist to place students in the school of their choice, Newark Common App is the best first step on the path to possibility. If North Star is your school choice, be sure to rank us #1 on your application!

Contact Information

Tel: (973) 474-5114
Tel: (973) 474-5115 (Para Espanol)
Email: enroll@northstaracademy.org

School Locations

North Star Academy operates 14 schools, serving grades K-12, in the Newark neighborhoods of Clinton Hill, Downtown Newark, Fairmount, Vailsburg, and West Side.

Find a School

Applications Open for School Year 2025-26!