The top reported proficiency rate is 76% in Math. The lowest is 66% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Thomas P. Hughes School
Thomas P. Hughes School serves third through fifth grade in Berkeley Heights, a suburban township in Union County that functions primarily as a commuter community for New York City. The town has a very high median household income and a high rate of owner-occupied housing, with many residents working at major employers such as Nokia Bell Labs and L’Oréal USA. The Watchung Reservation borders the township, and New Jersey Transit’s Gladstone Line provides commuter rail service. The housing market reflects this desirability, with high home values and a tight inventory of listings.
Hughes School is one of several elementary schools in the Berkeley Heights School District, and its enrollment is modest for an upper-elementary building. The student body is predominantly white, with a sizable Asian population and a smaller share of Hispanic students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is very low, reflecting the affluence of the community. The school serves grades three through five only, so there is no graduation rate to report and no high school program to evaluate.
The district has made a number of changes in recent years. It launched full-day kindergarten for all students starting in the 2024-25 school year, replacing a longstanding half-day program. It also expanded STEM and STEAM programming across elementary and middle schools beginning in 2023-24, adding robotics, coding, and engineering design curricula. A comprehensive mental health and wellness initiative began in 2022-23, adding counseling staff and integrating social-emotional learning into the curriculum. School board elections and the annual budget vote moved from April to November starting in 2023, meaning school governance decisions are now made during higher-turnout general elections. The district has also approved consecutive budget increases above the rate of inflation, raising the tax levy each of the last two years, which represents a rising property tax burden for residents.
On state assessments, Hughes School’s performance is strong. The school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among districts in Union County. In math, proficiency rates are high in third grade, somewhat lower in fourth grade, and high again in fifth grade. In English language arts, the pattern is similar, with a notably high proficiency rate in fifth grade and a lower one in third grade. Fifth grade science proficiency is solid. The lower third-grade ELA result is the only soft spot in an otherwise strong set of numbers; a parent may want to ask the school about early literacy support.
The data does not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or course access, so those dimensions cannot be assessed here. Because Hughes serves only grades three through five, course offerings like high school Advanced Placement or career pathways do not apply, and there is no graduation rate to consider.
For a family looking at upper-elementary options in a well-resourced, academically strong district, Hughes School fits parents who value a suburban setting with a commuter culture, high property values, and a school where state test results are consistently above the county median. The student body is economically homogeneous, with very few students from low-income backgrounds. The district’s recent investments in full-day kindergarten, STEM programming, and mental health support suggest an administration that is investing in its programs. The steadily rising school tax levy is a factor residents will want to weigh against the academic outcomes.
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