The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in English language arts. The lowest is 9% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on East Newark Elementary School
East Newark Elementary School is the only school in the East Newark School District, serving kindergarten through eighth grade in a borough that is the second-smallest by land area in New Jersey. The community is tightly packed, densely residential, and predominantly Hispanic, with a notably high share of residents of Ecuadorian ancestry. The school sits within the neighborhood grid, not on a separate campus, and its students move on to Harrison High School for ninth through twelfth grades under a long-standing sending-receiving arrangement with the Harrison district. For a family living in East Newark, this is the only public elementary and middle school option in town, and the high school years will take place a few blocks away in the adjacent borough.
The student body is small and economically diverse in a particular way: a very large share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that aligns with the borough’s modest household incomes and multi-family housing stock. The majority of students are Hispanic, with a substantial White minority and very small numbers of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Because the school serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to examine, and data on special education enrollment, English learner status, chronic absenteeism, and staffing were not available in the sources used here. A parent may want to ask the school directly about its special education services and English language support.
On state assessments administered through the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment, performance is low across tested grades and subjects. In math, the share of students meeting the state’s proficiency standard was modest in third grade but dropped sharply thereafter, reaching very low levels in fourth through eighth grades. In English language arts, results varied by grade: fifth grade had a stronger showing, while the other tested grades were weaker, with some recording proficiency rates in the single digits. Science results for both tested grades were also low. Compared with other school districts across Hudson County, this school sits in the bottom quarter for overall proficiency. The pattern is consistent and indicates that most students are not reaching grade-level expectations as measured by the state. The district has acknowledged this challenge: it expanded its Title I program to offer an extended day and before-school remedial instruction in reading and math, a support aimed specifically at closing the achievement gap.
There are some practical benefits that come with attending this school. The district now provides full-day preschool through a private provider, a change that matters for families with young children. All students receive free breakfast and lunch through the federal Community Eligibility Provision, which eliminates meal costs for every household and is a real relief for household budgeting. These are concrete, lasting offerings that reduce financial strain and add wraparound support.
The borough itself is walkable and transit-accessible, with the PATH Harrison station just a few blocks away and bus connections to Newark. There is no distinct downtown; civic and commercial life blends into the neighboring Harrison street grid. Limited parkland and library infrastructure exist within the borough itself. The housing market, though small, reflects typical New Jersey pricing, which is elevated compared to national medians.
For a parent considering this school, the picture is a trade-off. You are choosing a small, single-building school embedded in a dense urban neighborhood where your child will walk to school and where every student eats for free. But you are also choosing a school where academic proficiency, as measured by state tests, is low compared to almost every other district in the county, and where the district’s own response has been to add remedial time rather than rely on core instruction alone. A parent may want to visit the school, ask about the extended day program’s results, and understand how the school supports students who are behind. The high school years will be in Harrison, a separate district with its own academic profile, so the transition after eighth grade is another point to investigate. If the fit is right for your family’s priorities, the school offers a close-knit environment in a community that is deeply rooted and transit-connected; if strong test performance is your primary concern, this is not a school that delivers that.
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