Essex Fells Elementary School, Essex Fells NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Essex Fells Elementary School

Essex Fells Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in the Essex Fells School District, a single-school district that covers the entire borough. This is a small, community-anchored public school set within an exclusive, mostly built-out residential suburb in Essex County.

The school serves a student body that is predominantly white, with small shares of students who are Hispanic, Asian, two or more races, or Black. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was not available. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was also not reported. A parent reading this profile should be aware that certain measures of student support and need are not publicly available from the data we reviewed.

Academically, the school posts results that place it in the top quartile relative to other districts in Essex County, according to an index that averages proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In the most recent state assessments, which use New Jersey's NJSLA tests, a large majority of students in grades three through six scored at Levels 4 or 5, the two highest performance levels, in both math and English language arts. Proficiency rates in English language arts were particularly high, with the strongest showing in fifth grade and the lowest still well above the state median. Math results were also strong across all tested grades, with the fourth-grade cohort's rate slightly below the school's own typical range but still well above the county median. In fifth-grade science, a solid majority of students met the state's proficiency standard. The school does not serve grades that produce a graduation rate, so that metric does not apply here. A parent looking for specific cohort counts or a breakdown by student group may want to discuss those details directly with the school.

The school itself sits within the residential fabric of Essex Fells rather than in any commercial district, and there is no downtown. The borough has no traffic lights, no apartment buildings, and virtually no commercial activity. Most homes are custom-built single-family houses on sizable lots. Housing values reflect the exclusivity of the community; the local market is among the most expensive in the state. The borough's population has been essentially flat in recent years, with little room for new development given its restrictive zoning and small land area. For families who live in Essex Fells, this is the only elementary school option within the borough. Students in grades seven through twelve attend schools in the West Essex Regional School District, which serves a cluster of sending communities and operates a separate middle school and high school on a shared regional campus.

The district itself did not have any recent publicly reported changes, such as a new strategic plan or a facilities referendum, that met the threshold for inclusion in this profile. The school's day-to-day operations and academic program appear stable. For a family considering this community and this school, the picture is one of a small, academically strong elementary school in a high-cost, low-turnover residential setting where the local public school is central to the identity of the borough.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 388%

School 88% · District 88%

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 583%

School 83% · District 83%

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 52 pts above county median

Grade 684%

School 84% · District 84%

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 60 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 388%

School 88% · District 88%

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Grade 485%

School 85% · District 85%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 593%

School 93% · District 93%

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Grade 691%

School 91% · District 91%

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Science

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

This schoolEssex Fells 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.