Walter T. Bergen Middle School, Bloomingdale NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Walter T. Bergen Middle School

Walter T. Bergen Middle School serves grades five through eight in Bloomingdale, a small suburban borough in Passaic County. It is a regular public school within the Bloomingdale School District, which also operates a primary school for Pre-K through first grade and an elementary school for grades two through four. For high school, Bloomingdale students attend Butler High School in neighboring Morris County under a sending-receiving arrangement. This structure shapes the academic pathway: families who enroll here will have their child in this building during the middle years, then move to a different district for high school.

The school’s enrollment is small, and a substantial share of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is majority white, with a significant Hispanic population and smaller shares of students identifying as Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or two or more races. Information on special education and English learner populations was not provided in the available data.

On state assessments, performance varies by grade and subject. In English language arts, proficiency rates are above the midpoint among its county peers, with a majority of fifth graders and eighth graders meeting the standard, and about half of sixth and seventh graders doing so. In math, results are more uneven. Fifth, sixth, and seventh graders show moderate proficiency, but eighth-grade math results are markedly lower. Science testing, administered only at grades five and eight, shows a similar pattern: fifth graders post a moderate proficiency rate, while eighth-grade science results are low. A parent may want to ask the school how it supports students in these later grades, particularly in math and science, where the drop-off is pronounced.

The neighbor comparison, which positions the school relative to districts in Passaic County, places its overall proficiency index above the midpoint. That is a meaningful signal given the county’s range of performance, but the index is an average that blends the stronger ELA results with the weaker eighth-grade math and science scores. The school’s performance profile is mixed, not uniformly high.

The campus is located on Glenwild Avenue in a residential area. Bloomingdale itself is a low-density, auto-oriented suburb with lake communities and a commercial corridor along the Hamburg Turnpike. There is no traditional downtown; municipal, school, and religious buildings are spread along that corridor. The borough has been a stable commuter community with modest population shifts. Housing costs, reflected in the local housing market data, are above national benchmarks.

The parent district brief notes that the Bloomingdale district launched full-day kindergarten in 2024, a change from half-day before. That shift affects families with younger children, but for the middle school itself the immediate impact is limited.

Notably absent from the data are several factors a family often considers. There was no information on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, or staffing ratios. Course access and program offerings—such as advanced classes, electives, or enrichment—were not provided. The school’s Title I status and magnet status were not reported. A parent may want to check directly with the school about what academic and extracurricular options are available, especially since the middle school years are a time when course differentiation often begins.

For whom does this school fit? Families who value a small middle school within a small district, who are comfortable with the performance being above the county midpoint but not among the top tier, and who accept that high school will be in a different town. The local setting is suburban and car-dependent, with lake-community recreational options but limited walkability. The school’s academic profile shows a strength in English language arts and a weaker showing in eighth-grade math and science that bears watching.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 9%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 49%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 859%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Science

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

This schoolBloomingdale School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income54%2 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income59%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income63%42 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income39%Higher-income73%34 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income22%Higher-income39%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income32%Higher-income55%24 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income8%Higher-income63%55 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income9%Higher-income10%0 pp gap