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Wahlstrom Early Childhood Academy

East Orange · Essex County · Elementary school
Grades PK–K · was K in 2000
Updated June 2026

At a glance

What changed?

These measures follow the same rule on every school page, not a ranking of this school’s biggest changes. Each row names its evidence dates; trend rows do not describe every year in between.

These are descriptive measures from statewide NJDOE datasets, not a quality rating or an explanation of cause. Proficiency, attendance, and graduation figures use All Students; subgroup patterns may differ.

Enrollment, by grade

In 2025-26 it enrolled 154 students across grades PK–K. That is 20 fewer than in 2000-01 (174) — the school has shrunk. It peaked at 208 in 2004-05. Its biggest cohort is pre-K.

students 062125188250KPK1998200320082013201820232025

Students enrolled in each grade each fall, stacked to the total — so the top edge is total enrollment. Bands run from the lowest grade (light) to the highest (dark); a band that appears or disappears is a grade the school added or dropped. “Other” is students with no grade level (mostly special education), so the bands always sum to total. Source: NJDOE Fall Enrollment.

What the school looks like

The largest group in both 2000-01 and 2025-26 was Black students — 100% then, 79% now.

% of students 050100race categories: 5 → 714%79%1998200320082013201820232025
WhiteBlackHispanicAsianTwo or moreNative Am.

Each group’s share of enrollment over time, or its head count — toggle above. New Jersey expanded race and ethnicity reporting from five to seven categories in 2006-07 (dashed line), so “two or more races” appears only after; Asian here includes Pacific Islander. Source: NJDOE Fall Enrollment.

How much the mix changed

Between 2021-22 and 2025-26 the makeup of this school barely moved.

That’s the ninth-largest shift among the district’s 10 elementary schools — smaller than 89% of Essex County elementary schools. That roughly tracks the district overall (7.4) — a district-wide change more than a school-specific one. The biggest moves, in percentage points:
White +3.2·Two or more −1.7·Black −0.8

The index is half the sum of every group’s change in share, on a 0–100 scale (how it works). Compare any two years in the explorer →

Free or reduced-price lunch

In 2025-26, 43.5% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch.

% eligible 05010055.6%51%43.5%200020052010201520202025
This schooldistrict overalldistrict elementary schools

Share of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The lighter lines show the district overall and the district elementary schools, for comparison. Since 2014, some districts provide free meals to all students regardless of household income, which can lift the eligible share. Source: NJDOE Fall Enrollment.

Chronic absenteeism

In 2024-25, 18.6% of students were chronically absent — missing at least 10% of school days — down from 33.3% in 2021-22.

% chronically absent 0204027.8%18.6%14.4%2021202220232024
This schooldistrict overallNew Jersey

Chronic absenteeism — the share of students who missed 10% or more of the days they were enrolled (roughly 18 days across a full school year). The lighter lines show the district overall and New Jersey, for comparison. Source: NJ School Performance Reports, 2024-25.

Profile built from New Jersey Department of Education Fall Enrollment data, 1998-99 through 2025-26. How this data works →