The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in Math. The lowest is 41% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on John A. Forrest Elementary School
John A. Forrest Elementary School is a small public school in Fair Lawn, serving kindergarten through fourth grade. It sits within the Fair Lawn Public School District, a suburban Bergen County system that feeds students into a single middle and high school pathway. The school’s size means children move through the early grades in a relatively contained setting, with one class per grade likely, before transitioning to a larger elementary or intermediate school in the district.
Fair Lawn itself is a primarily residential borough about twelve miles northwest of Manhattan, shaped by commuter life. Two NJ Transit rail stations connect residents to the city, and the borough’s built environment is a mix of single-family neighborhoods and commercial corridors along Route 4 and Fair Lawn Avenue. The historic Radburn section, a planned community from the early twentieth century, adds a distinct walkable pocket with separated pedestrian paths and its own station. The recent closure of the Nabisco bakery, the borough’s largest employer and taxpayer for decades, has opened a large redevelopment site, but for now Fair Lawn remains a place where most families own their homes and the housing market is active, with values well above national medians and a quick turnover of listings.
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John A. Forrest Elementary School is a small, regular public school in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, serving kindergarten through fourth grade. It is one of several elementary schools in the Fair Lawn Public School District, a suburban Bergen County system that feeds into a single middle school and high school. The school's size keeps the early grades in a contained setting, which can mean more consistent peer groups as children move through each year before transitioning to a larger school in the district.
Fair Lawn is a primarily residential borough twelve miles northwest of Manhattan. Its character is shaped by commuters: two NJ Transit rail stations, Radburn and Broadway, connect residents to New York City, and the historic Radburn planned community adds a distinctive walkable neighborhood with separated pedestrian paths. The closure of the Nabisco bakery plant, for decades the borough's largest employer and taxpayer, opened a large redevelopment site on Route 4. For now, Fair Lawn remains a place where most families own their homes, and the housing market is active, with values well above national medians and homes selling quickly. That market context is relevant for any family considering a move to the area.
On state assessments, Forrest's students take the NJSLA in math and English language arts in grades three and four. Proficiency rates across these tests are solid. Math performance is a clear strength: a substantial majority of third graders met the state's proficiency benchmark, and fourth graders also did well, though at a slightly lower rate. In English language arts, third graders again showed a strong proficiency rate, while fourth graders were a bit lower. The school's overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grade levels is below the midpoint relative to districts in Bergen County, a high-performing region overall. A parent may want to look into the grade-level differences further with the school to understand the pattern.
Science assessment data appears for grade five, but it is from several years ago and the assessment itself has since changed, so it is not a current picture of the school. Because Forrest serves only through fourth grade, there is no high school graduation rate or advanced coursework data to evaluate here.
The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and a smaller but notable Asian share. About a fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a moderate rate for the area. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the data we reviewed; a family with a child in either category may wish to ask the school directly about its support programs.
The district's strategic priorities or recent changes did not surface in publicly available materials, so we leave that area unaddressed rather than guess. What is clear is that Forrest provides a straightforward, neighborhood-based elementary experience in a commuter suburb with a strong housing market. It fits families who want a small early-grade school in a stable, residential community with good access to New York City, and who are comfortable with the academic performance being solid but not at the top of a competitive county.
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