University Academy Charter High School (often abbreviated to UACHS) is a four-year comprehensive public charter high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Jersey City, in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school opened in the 2002–03 school year and operates under the terms of a charter granted by the New Jersey Department of Education in 2001. Through its affiliation with Kean Jersey City, students who graduate from the school with a grade point average of 3.8 or higher are eligible to receive a four-year scholarship to Kean Jersey City.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 429 students and 40.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1. There were 299 students (69.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 45 (10.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for University Academy Charter High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
They offer advanced placement classes includes AP Seminar, AP Bio, AP USA History I, AP Calculus AB, AP Computer Principles, and AP Lang.
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 283rd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools".Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014.
Based on the 2026-2027 school year, UACHS was ranked 279th in NJ out of 424 schools according to US News. The AP® participation rate at the school is 34%.
Clubs The extracurricular activities offered at UACHS include Art Club, Chess Club, Drama Club, Freshmen-Senior Class Committees, National Honor Society, Poetry Club, Student Government, The Student Voice Newspaper, and Yearbook.
The Student Voice Newspaper is the award-winning Journalism program at UACHS. In order to write for the Student Voice, students need to take Journalism I and Journalism II/III.
Athletics The University Academy Charter GeneralsUniversity Academy Charter, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Hudson County Interscholastic League, which consists of public and private high schools in Hudson County and operates under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 313 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group I for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 75 to 476 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020.
Sports offered by the school include baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, fall cross country track, softball, spring track and winter indoor track.
Administration The school's principal is Erie Lugo. Core members of his administration include the three assistant principals.Staff Directory, University Academy Charter High School. Accessed September 14, 2026.
References
External links University Academy Charter High School
Data for University Academy Charter High School, National Center for Education Statistics