Broad Street School, Bridgeton NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Broad Street School

Broad Street School serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade as a regular public school in the Bridgeton City School District. Located in the city of Bridgeton, the school sits in a community that functions as the county seat of Cumberland County and one of the two principal cities in the Vineland-Bridgeton metro area. Bridgeton blends residential, commercial, and industrial land uses, with a historic district that spans a large portion of the city, an active downtown featuring an art gallery and a makerspace, and a strong industrial heritage rooted in glass manufacturing and machine works. A major glass production facility remains a key employer, along with a large state prison and the Rutgers Food Innovation Center. The surrounding region is heavily agricultural, and the city serves as a commercial hub for it. Portions of Bridgeton are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone, which offers a reduced sales tax rate. Housing values in the area are modest compared to state and national benchmarks.

The school enrolls a student body of moderate size for a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade building. The vast majority of students identify as Hispanic, with a much smaller share of Black students and a very small number of White students and students of other races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a high level of economic need in the school community. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the records reviewed.

State assessment results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, or NJSLA, show that across all tested grades and subjects, the share of students meeting the proficiency bar is low. In mathematics, proficiency rates range from below a tenth of students in eighth grade to about three-tenths of third graders. Several middle-grade levels recorded proficiency in the single digits, including fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, and eighth grade. In English language arts, proficiency is also low across most grades. Third grade saw roughly one in thirteen students proficient, while fourth grade stood at about one in six. Seventh grade is a relative high point, where about a third of students scored proficient. Fifth, sixth, and eighth grades all posted proficiency rates in the low teens. Science is tested in fifth grade and eighth grade, and in both cases the share of students reaching the proficient level is minimal. When compared to other schools across districts in Cumberland County, Broad Street School’s overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quarter of the cohort.

Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The available data does not include information on discipline incidents, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access, so a parent interested in those areas would need to follow up directly with the school or district. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes to the district’s operations or policies.

Families looking at Broad Street School will encounter a student body that is heavily Hispanic and economically disadvantaged, situated in a city with a modest housing market and a downtown that has retained some historic character and civic anchors such as a large park system with lakes and a free zoo. The academic performance data is a soft spot that a parent may want to explore further with the school, particularly around what interventions and supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level standards. The school does not offer a high school program, so families will need to plan for that transition when the time comes.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 20% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 20 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 9% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 10% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 26 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 69%

School 9% · District 11% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 8% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 22 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 4% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 38%

School 8% · District 12% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 14% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 9% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 612%

School 12% · District 20% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 733%

School 33% · District 19% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 20% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 45 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Science

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 5% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 81%

School 1% · District 2%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolBridgeton City 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.