Philip’s Academy is a tuition-free K-8 public charter school open to all residents of New Jersey, with priority given to those in East Orange, Irvington, and Newark.

 

As a free public school, Philip’s Academy does not require application fees or consider factors such as test scores or grades for enrollment. We are committed to serving all students, regardless of their abilities.

 

Our school provides a safe, nurturing, and academically rigorous environment where every child receives individualized attention and can excel every day.

​

When you choose Philip's Academy, you are choosing a school that will embrace your child for who they are - the New Jersey State Department of Education awarded Philip's Academy the 2023 Lighthouse Award in recognition of our ability to recruit and retain quality faculty from diverse backgrounds. Philip's Academy was the only school in the state to earn that honor. 

 

Application Process:

 

Philip’s Academy participates in the Newark Common App, a centralized application, lottery, and waitlist system available to all families seeking access to excellent educational options in Newark. This system ensures fairness and transparency in distributing school placements, promoting equal access to educational opportunities.

 

Here's how the process works:

 

• Apply through a single application, ranking your school choices in order of preference.

• A randomized computer lottery is conducted to determine placements.

• Applicants will receive a single best offer based on the lottery results.

• If you're not placed in your first-choice school, you will be added to the waitlist for that school.

 

About Philip’s Academy

 

• Philip's Academy Charter School of Newark, originally founded as St. Philip's Academy in 1988, became the first school in New Jersey to convert from a private school to a public charter school in 2013. 

• Philip's Academy (or PACS Newark) is proudly a public school - no application fees, no entrance criteria and no tuition for New Jersey families. 

• PACS Newark serves students from PreK-4 to Grade 8.

 

Our school is the original home of EcoSpaces Education, a food literacy program that uses hands-on learning to connect kids to food and give them the tools to lead healthy lives. All students have access to our Rooftop Garden, our teaching kitchen and lessons from our EcoSpaces instructor. Our focus on empowering students to build healthy habits that last a lifetime informs our nutrition policy, which you can find here. 

 

Our highly qualified and tenured teachers deliver a comprehensive, inclusive curriculum that meets the needs of all learners and incorporates the latest technology.

 

PACS Newark has a long track record of placing our graduates at some of the best high schools in the state and beyond - from boarding schools like Taft, Loomis Chaffee and Choate Rosemary Hall, to local standouts like St. Vincent Academy, St. Benedict's Prep, Newark Academy and more. Philip's Academy graduates have gone on to thrive at some of the nations top colleges = Harvard, Yale, Princeton and more.

 

While we primarily serve families from Newark, East Orange and Irvington, we encourage families from anywhere in New Jersey to complete an application today and find out first hand why PACS is the perfect place for you!