Eleanor Van Gelder, Edgewater NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Eleanor Van Gelder

Eleanor Van Gelder is a regular public school in Edgewater, New Jersey, serving grades three through six. It is the only elementary school in the Edgewater School District, a small district that has recently shifted to a full-day kindergarten program – a change parents had been advocating for over a number of years. The school itself is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and sits within the borough’s compact footprint along River Road, not on a separated campus, so it is woven directly into the residential fabric of the community.

The student body is racially and ethnically diverse, with a composition that is predominantly Asian and White, followed by Hispanic students, and a much smaller share of Black students and students who identify as two or more races. About one in five students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that is relatively low. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available, so a parent with a child in either category may want to follow up directly with the school on the availability of support services.

On state assessments, Eleanor Van Gelder’s results follow a mixed pattern. In English language arts, across the tested grades, a comfortable majority of students met the state’s proficiency benchmark, with the upper grades posting somewhat stronger outcomes. In mathematics, proficiency rates were more uneven. Most grades showed that roughly three out of five students scored proficient or above, but sixth grade dipped to about half. In science – tested only in grade five – just under half of students reached the state’s proficiency threshold. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency index places it below the midpoint relative to districts in Bergen County.

Because Eleanor Van Gelder ends at grade six, there is no graduation rate or chronic absenteeism metric to report; those simply do not apply here. The school does have a modest enrollment, consistent with a single-building district that serves a narrow grade band in a densely populated borough. Edgewater itself has experienced rapid residential growth over recent decades, transitioning from an industrial past to a commuter community along the Hudson River. Housing values in the area are high – well above national and state medians – and the rental market is similarly steep, which means families moving in will face a significant cost-of-living premium.

The district brief notes no other strategic changes beyond the kindergarten expansion. No information on course access, staffing ratios, discipline rates, or program offerings was provided, so a more detailed picture of what a student’s daily experience looks like would need to come from school sources. What is clear is that Eleanor Van Gelder serves an upper-elementary population in a community that is growing, increasingly residential, and connected closely to its historic River Road corridor, and that its academic performance, while uneven, shows a stronger footing in literacy than in mathematics and science.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 64%

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

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 60%

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

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 61%

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

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 49%

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

English language arts

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 464%

School 64% · District 64%

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

Grade 568%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 67%

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

Science

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

This schoolEdgewater 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 3Lower-income40%Higher-income60%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income53%Higher-income66%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income63%Higher-income69%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income78%45 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income45%Higher-income69%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income65%32 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income56%Higher-income62%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income55%28 pp gap