I get it. The first thing is that you don’t need to send your kid to the “zoned” district school for your address. You can apply to any school in the city. To get an idea of the basic test scores for each district and charter you can start here: https://www.myschoolsnewark.org/

The state also has more comprehensive reports on each school relating to absenteeism, demographics, all kinds of stuff. Google NJ DOE school reports.

There are different applications though which is super annoying. The district schools have their own. Most of the charters have a common app but a bunch have their own individual lottery. We applied to seven schools through four applications and the drawings are at different times. It’s maddening.

If you’re in Ironbound, I would strongly consider The Gray as it’s just across 21. It’s likely where we’re sending our kid since they’re pretty deep on the wait list for Robert Treat which would be much more convenient for us. There’s also another Robert Treat campus in downtown that I know people like.