Newark’s 2026-2027 school goals: AP growth, new programs, and serving as a model for other districts
The first day of school for Newark students is two weeks away, and Superintendent Roger León’s goals for the year are aimed at improving student achievement, boosting literacy and writing skills, and growing enrollment in advanced classes. León shared his goals for…
Newark Superintendent Roger León outlined his goals for the 2026-2027 school year, aimed at enhancing student achievement, literacy, and writing skills, while also increasing enrollment in advanced classes. León highlighted plans to continue the early childhood enrichment program pairing pre-K students with high schoolers, expand enrollment in AP Seminar, and incorporate more public speaking and writing opportunities.
Despite recent improvements in graduation and enrollment rates, reading and math scores remain below statewide averages. The district's 10-year strategy, "The Next Decade: 2020-2030," is divided into six priorities, each with specific actions, milestones, and benchmarks. The district will assess progress on these priorities every five years, beginning with the 2020-21 school year and concluding with the 2027-30 period.
This year marks the district's fourth checkpoint to ensure the groundwork from previous years leads to tangible progress. León emphasized the importance of ensuring that all plans are implemented by next year. Key initiatives for the 2026-2027 year include the B4K program, which prepares pre-K students for kindergarten, and transition plans for second graders entering third grade.
Newark will also push to increase AP Seminar enrollment, with 97% of sophomores who take the course passing the English language arts test the following year. Additionally, the district will introduce new college-level courses, such as AP Cybersecurity and AP Business with Personal Finance, and a police and firefighter program in partnership with the city.
Writing will be integrated into every subject, with public speaking practices introduced as early as third grade. The district also aims to strengthen partnerships with outside organizations to collaborate more closely. As a model for other districts, Newark's strategies can provide intervention strategies for larger districts and examples of improvement for smaller districts.
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