The top reported proficiency rate is 84% in Math. The lowest is 79% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Hillside Elementary School
Hillside Elementary School serves children from prekindergarten through third grade in Allendale, a primarily residential borough in Bergen County. The school is one of two in the Allendale Public School District; students move on to Brookside School for grades four through eight and then to Northern Highlands Regional High School, which is shared with neighboring communities. This is a small, early-elementary school, and its grade band means that many of the metrics used to evaluate older schools, such as a graduation rate or chronic absenteeism data, do not apply here.
The school’s enrollment is modest for its grade band, with a student body that is predominantly white. Asian students make up a substantial share, and there are smaller populations of Hispanic students and students who identify as two or more races. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is very small, reflecting the economic context of the community. Allendale is a primarily residential borough with a compact, walkable town center, a commuter rail station, and large parks including Crestwood Park and the Celery Farm nature preserve. Housing values in the area are high, and the borough is largely built out, with limited room for major new development. The district operates a full-day preschool program at Hillside, which is a lasting programmatic offering for families with young children.
State testing data is available for third grade only, which is the tested grade in this building. On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment, the school’s proficiency rates in both math and English language arts were well above the midpoint among districts in Bergen County. The school’s overall proficiency index placed it in the top quartile of the county’s districts, a strong showing for an early-elementary school. These results reflect the performance of a single grade level, so they offer a snapshot rather than a multi-year trend, but the snapshot is a positive one.
The student body is small, and the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is very low. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the range of supports offered. The school does not appear to have a Title I designation, which is consistent with the low share of students from low-income households.
The district operates a full-day preschool program at Hillside, which is a lasting programmatic offering for families with young children. The district’s grade configuration means that children attend Hillside through third grade and then move to Brookside School for grades four through eight. High school students attend Northern Highlands Regional High School, which is shared with three neighboring communities. This structure is stable and has been in place for some time.
The school’s testing results are strong, and the community context is one of high housing costs and a largely built-out suburban environment. For a family considering Allendale, Hillside Elementary represents a well-regarded early elementary option in a district that feeds into a regional high school. The school’s small size and early grade band mean that the experience is focused on foundational learning in a setting with very low economic diversity. A parent looking for a school with strong early academic outcomes in an affluent, commuter-oriented suburb would find Hillside consistent with that profile.
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