Newark Public Schools Announces “No Stopping Us Now” as Theme for 2026-2027 School Year

NEWARK, N.J. – It has been seven years since local control was returned to Newark Public Schools, since its first Superintendent was appointed under local control, and since implementation began of the district historic 10-year strategic plan, The Next Decade: 2020-30.

In that time, Newark Public Schools has achieved tremendous momentum: student enrollment growth is the highest among all urban school districts – ranking Newark Public Schools No. 1 in the country, 12 new schools have opened and the district has added hundreds of seats in prekindergarten and middle grades among all of its 42 elementary schools, and opportunities for Newark students to success have been significantly broadened with unprecedented admissions to Ivy Leagues, HBCUs, state and private higher education institutions, county colleges, and technical schools.

With this much momentum built, there can be no stopping Newark Public Schools’ progress. That is why the district’s theme as it launches the 2026-2027 school year is, “No Stopping Us Now!”

During the Newark Public Schools’ annual Convocation today, Superintendent León reviewed some of the details of the district’s progress. 

“Newark Public Schools has come a long way, and there is no stopping us now,” Superintendent León said. “Our success is the result of establishing a clear strategy, remaining focused on that strategy, and accelerating the work on behalf of our students. As we enter Year Seven, we celebrate how far we have come while recognizing that we have much more work ahead of us.”

The new school year begins with Newark Public Schools having achieved several major milestones. On July 1, the New Jersey Department of Education designated Newark Public Schools as a High Performing District after it met or exceeded the required standard in all five areas of the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC): instruction and program, fiscal management, governance, operations and personnel.

The District earned every available point in fiscal management with a perfect score of 100 in finance, and once again received the Meritorious Budget Award from the Association of School Business Officials International, an independent recognition of excellence in school budgeting. In addition, the Independent Auditor’s Report concluded that the review of the district’s financial statements resulted in an unmodified opinion, the highest and most favorable report a fiscally sound organization could receive.

Newark Public Schools also became the only member of the Council of the Great City Schools to receive the organization’s 2026 Advancing Excellence in Urban Education Award. The national honor recognized the District’s innovative Conception to Cradle initiative, which supports children and families beginning before birth and reflects the strategic plan’s commitment to establishing a strong foundation for lifelong learning.

“The theme ‘No Stopping Us Now’ reflects the determination, consistency and shared commitment that have brought Newark Public Schools to this point,” Board of Education President Hasani K. Council said. “The Board is proud of the progress being made throughout the District, but we also understand that this momentum must continue. We remain committed to supporting the Superintendent, our teachers, our staff, our students and our families as we move closer to fulfilling the vision of the strategic plan.”

That momentum will continue during the 2026-27 school year through several new and expanded initiatives, including:

• The opening of New Media High School, which will prepare students for careers in film, television and digital media.
• A new transition plan designed to better prepare second-grade students for the critical academic demands of third grade.
• An expanded emphasis on writing across the curriculum and speaking across every grade level.
• Increased enrollment in AP Seminar, a course in which 97% of participating sophomores subsequently passed the State’s English language arts assessment as juniors.
• The expansion of college-level opportunities, with college courses now weighted to recognize their rigor when calculating students’ grade-point averages.
• New career pathways developed with the City of Newark to prepare students for careers in law enforcement and firefighting.
• The expansion of B4K, which connects pre-K students with activities such as ballet, basketball and soccer while engaging accomplished high school students as mentors.
• Continued implementation of the Core 4 principles (Focused, Friendly, Flexible and Fast) to strengthen the delivery of services throughout the District.

The District’s progress is rooted in a strategic plan designed to accelerate change rather than wait until the end of the decade to implement its most important strategies. By the conclusion of Year Seven, nearly all elements of the plan are expected to be underway.

“The strategic plan is the governing document of this school district,” Superintendent León said. “We said what we were going to do, we remained committed to doing it, and our students are benefiting. Now we must build upon that success, move even more aggressively and ensure that every strategy reaches the students and families it was designed to serve.”