The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in English language arts. The lowest is 43% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Atlantic Highlands School District
The Atlantic Highlands School District served students from preschool through sixth grade in the borough of Atlantic Highlands, a small waterfront community on the Sandy Hook peninsula in Monmouth County. The district is no longer operating as an independent entity. Voters approved a consolidation measure in 2023, and the district was dissolved effective July 2024, merging with the neighboring Highlands district and the Henry Hudson Regional district to form a single PreK-12 regional school district. This narrative describes the Atlantic Highlands School District as it existed before that dissolution, based on the most recent available data.
The district was small, serving a few hundred students across a single elementary school. The student body was predominantly white, with a Hispanic population making up a modest share and smaller numbers of students who identified as Black, Asian, or two or more races. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, as well as the share of students with disabilities or English learner status, was not available in the data provided.
State testing results from the 2023-24 school year, the district's final year of operation, show a mixed picture. In English language arts, proficiency rates across grades three through six ranged from just under half of students meeting the bar in fourth grade to a strong showing in fifth grade, where a clear majority of students scored at proficient or above. Math results were more uneven. Third grade and sixth grade both saw a majority of students reaching proficiency, while fourth grade saw a smaller share. Fifth grade math fell in between, with about half of students proficient. Science testing, administered only in fifth grade, showed a share of students meeting the state standard that was below the majority mark. Overall, the district's combined proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades sat above the midpoint among Monmouth County's districts, placing it in the middle of the pack but on the stronger side.
The district's chronic absenteeism rate was low relative to other districts in the county, a positive indicator for consistent student attendance. Per-pupil spending was in the upper half of the middle range among county districts, reflecting a moderate level of investment in the small elementary program.
The district operated a single school, Atlantic Highlands Elementary School, which housed all grades from preschool through sixth. Because the district served only elementary and middle grades, there was no high school graduation rate to report, and no data on advanced coursework or college readiness metrics.
The most consequential fact for any family considering this district is that it no longer exists. As of July 2024, the Atlantic Highlands School District was dissolved and merged into the Henry Hudson Regional School District, creating a unified PreK-12 system for the communities of Atlantic Highlands and Highlands. Families who would have enrolled here now fall under the Henry Hudson Regional district, which governs the full educational pathway from elementary through high school. The data presented here reflects the final year of the Atlantic Highlands district as a standalone entity and is not a picture of the current system.
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