Jefferson Township Public School District, NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson Township Public School District

The Jefferson Township Public School District is a suburban school system in Morris County, New Jersey, serving a predominantly white student population with a moderate share of Hispanic students. With an enrollment large enough to have its own high school and a middle school, the district sits in a region where housing values are noticeably above the national average. For families considering the area, the town’s housing market reflects a competitive northern New Jersey setting, and rents are costly relative to typical household income. The district’s academic performance on state assessments presents a mixed picture, with notably stronger results in English language arts than in mathematics, and both subjects show a pattern that a parent should examine carefully by grade.

On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, the district’s English language arts proficiency rates across grades three through eight cluster in a range that a parent would likely consider solid. The strongest showing comes in fifth grade, where a majority of students met the proficient or advanced threshold. Other elementary and middle school grades are close behind, with proficiency in the area of half or slightly above in third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. This suggests that the district’s literacy instruction is producing consistent results through the middle school years. In mathematics, the picture is more uneven. Early elementary grades perform at a similar level to their reading scores, with third grade math proficiency roughly comparable to its ELA counterpart. However, math proficiency declines steadily as students move up, with fourth and fifth grades falling off noticeably, and sixth, seventh, and eighth grades landing well below a majority. By eighth grade, only a modest share of students are proficient in math. Science results, tested in fifth and eighth grades, are lower still, with a relatively small proportion of students reaching the proficient level. The district’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile among Morris County’s districts. This is a significant soft spot, and a family whose child shows an aptitude for math or science may want to talk with the district about its advanced course options and how it supports students who need to strengthen foundational skills. The chronic absenteeism rate is below the midpoint among county districts, which is a positive sign for student engagement and school climate. Per-pupil spending falls in the upper half of the middle range among county districts, indicating that the district invests at a typical level for the area.

A major change is coming to how the district organizes its students. Publicly reported by the district in its family handbook, the grade alignments are being reconfigured starting in the 2025-2026 school year. A new Jefferson Township Intermediate School will serve grades four through eight, while Arthur Stanlick Elementary will take grades one through three, and White Rock Elementary will handle preschool through third grade. This means that the current pattern in which a student moves from an elementary school to a middle school to a high school will change. A family with a younger child should expect a different set of school buildings and a different feeder pattern than what an older sibling might have experienced. The district’s schools are Jefferson Township High School, Jefferson Township Middle School, and five elementary buildings, each with its own attendance zone. The district does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch data or special education counts in the available records, so a parent who wants to understand the economic and special-needs makeup should ask the school directly.

The peer environment is shaped by a student body that is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic population and even smaller shares of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. This is a largely homogeneous setting, which a family may weigh as a plain characteristic of the community. State testing data for high school grades was not available in this summary, but the high school serves grades nine through twelve, and a parent would want to look at its own results and programming, including Advanced Placement and career pathway offerings, to gauge the upper-grade academic atmosphere. Housing in the district’s ZIP codes shows a variety of values, with the most expensive homes in the Newfoundland area and more moderate prices in Lake Hopatcong and Wharton. The rental market is limited, with data only available for the Wharton ZIP code. For a family seeking a traditional New Jersey suburban school system with a recent structural change to its intermediate grades, the Jefferson Township Public School District offers a mix of solid reading outcomes and a need for stronger math and science performance.

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District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

2,672

Grades

PK–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 17%

Black 2%

White 74%

Asian 3%

Two+ 3%

Am. Indian / AK Native 0%

Hawaiian / Pac. Isl. 0%

By economic status

Percent proficient by grade, as reported

Economically disadvantaged

Not disadvantaged

ELA

Gr 3

16%

56%

Gr 4

38%

55%

Gr 5

48%

65%

Gr 6

44%

55%

Gr 7

41%

59%

Gr 8

25%

57%

Math

Gr 3

24%

62%

Gr 4

31%

50%

Gr 5

15%

54%

Gr 6

32%

38%

Gr 7

14%

37%

Gr 8

27%

Science

Gr 5

11%

36%

Gr 8

24%

Schools in this District

6 schools are officially reported under this district.

Jefferson Township High School

Arthur Stanlick Elementary School

Cozy Lake Elementary School

Ellen T. Briggs Elementary School

Jefferson Township Middle School

White Rock Elementary School

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

6 grades reported

56%

Grade 3

47%

Grade 4

48%

Grade 5

37%

Grade 6

33%

Grade 7

23%

Grade 8

English Language Arts

6 grades reported

50%

Grade 3

52%

Grade 4

63%

Grade 5

53%

Grade 6

56%

Grade 7

53%

Grade 8

Science

2 grades reported

32%

Grade 5

21%

Grade 8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$522,699

Year-over-year change+2.9%

Range across 5 ZIP codes$434K to $622K

vs. state typical0.91x

vs. national typical1.42x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (5 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
07438	Oak Ridge	$527K	+3.6%	65.6%
07849	Lake Hopatcong	$524K	+1.5%	17.2%
07885	Wharton	$502K	+1.5%	16.6%
07435	Newfoundland	$622K	+4.2%	0.5%
07460	Stockholm	$434K	+1.4%	0.1%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$2,530/mo

ZIP code rents (1 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
07885	Wharton	$2,530	—	16.6%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$2,638/mo

Home price / national median income6.2x

Annual rent / national median income36.3%

Est. mortgage exceeds rent by$108/mo

Market Activity: Morris County

Median listing price$725,000

Median listing price YoY-3.2%

Median price per sq ft$333

Median price per sq ft YoY-0.3%

Median days on market20.3 days

Median days on market YoY+6.6%

Active listings797

Active listings YoY+24.1%

New listings644

New listings YoY+3.2%

Pending listings742

Pending listings YoY+7.8%

Hotness: median listing price$743,450

Hotness: median listing price YoY+2.8%

Supply score99.7

Supply score YoY+0.1%

Demand score95.3

Demand score YoY+3.3%

Median listing price (12 months)

Median price per sq ft (12 months)

Median days on market (12 months)

Active listings (12 months)

New listings (12 months)

Pending listings (12 months)

Hotness: median listing price (12 months)

Supply score (12 months)

Demand score (12 months)

Comparison

State typical home value$571,373 (+3.4% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.