The top reported proficiency rate is 77% in Math. The lowest is 59% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Brookside Place School
Brookside Place School is one of the elementary schools in the Cranford Public School District, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a regular public school, and its enrollment is small for a K-5 building. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population making up the next largest share, and small numbers of Asian, two-or-more-races, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that is notably low.
The school sits in Cranford, a township that functions as a bedroom community for New York City while also hosting a downtown with restaurants and specialty shops, three business parks, and the main campus of Union County College. The downtown is built around the NJ Transit train station and the Rahway River, with pedestrian plazas, a riverwalk, and a canoe club. The housing market in the area is expensive, with home values well above national and state benchmarks. Rents are also high, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment on a typical home is substantial. The local economy has a low unemployment rate.
On state assessments, Brookside Place School posts results that are strong overall. In math, third and fourth graders show a high rate of proficiency, while fifth graders are somewhat lower but still solid. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: third and fourth graders are at a solid level, and fifth graders are a bit higher. In science, which is tested only in fifth grade, the proficiency rate is lower than in math and ELA. A parent may want to ask the school about the dip in fifth-grade math and the science results to understand what support is in place. Compared to other districts in Union County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile, a strong position.
Because Brookside Place serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not have data on chronic absenteeism, special education identification, or English learner enrollment in the available records. A parent who wants to understand the school’s approach to students with disabilities or multilingual learners would need to ask the school directly.
The school is part of the Cranford Public School District, which serves the township of Cranford. Cranford is a mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial areas, with a downtown that has seen significant investment through transit-oriented development near the train station. The township has a historic downtown with restaurants and shops, a riverwalk along the Rahway River, and several parks. Union County College’s main campus is in Cranford, and the district’s schools are woven into the community fabric rather than set apart on large campuses. The housing market is expensive, and the area has a strong commercial base with three business parks that draw commuters in as well as out.
The school itself is a neighborhood elementary building. Its enrollment is small, and the share of students from low-income households is very low. The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic population that is the next largest group. The school’s academic performance on state tests is strong overall, particularly in math and English language arts in the earlier grades. The proficiency rates in third and fourth grade math are high, and the fifth grade ELA results are also solid. The fifth grade science results are lower, and the fifth grade math results, while still above the county median, are the weakest of the tested subjects and grades. A parent may want to ask the school how it supports students as they move into the upper elementary grades, especially in math and science.
The school is small, and the grade-level enrollments are balanced across kindergarten through fifth grade. There is no data on special education identification rates or English learner enrollment in the available records. The school does not appear to have a Title I designation, which aligns with the very low share of students from low-income households.
For a family considering Cranford, Brookside Place offers a strong academic start in a community with a walkable downtown, train access to New York City, and a high-cost housing market. The school’s proficiency results are well above the county median, and the student body is economically homogeneous. A parent who values a small elementary school with strong test scores in a commuter-friendly suburb with a lively downtown will find this a good fit. A parent who wants a more economically or racially diverse student body, or who wants to see detailed data on special education and English learner support, may want to ask the school for that information directly.
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