The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in Math. The lowest is 6% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Julia A. Barnes School
Julia A. Barnes School is a regular public elementary school in the Jersey City Public Schools district, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It operates as a neighborhood school within one of the densest, most diverse urban environments in the United States. The school is located at 91 Astor Place in Jersey City, a city that has seen substantial redevelopment along its waterfront and significant population growth, while retaining distinct residential neighborhoods with their own commercial corridors. The city is connected to Manhattan by the PATH rapid transit system, NJ Transit buses, and ferry service, making it a high-density commuter hub as well as a destination for finance, logistics, and cultural institutions.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of Black students and smaller numbers of White, Asian, and multiracial students. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with significant economic need. The school’s enrollment is concentrated in the early elementary grades, with the largest groups in kindergarten through second grade. Faculty, staffing ratios, and class sizes were not part of the available data, so a parent would want to ask about those directly.
State assessment results for the school show a mixed picture. In third-grade math and English language arts, roughly two out of every five students scored at the proficient level or above, which means the majority of students in that grade are not yet meeting the state’s proficiency benchmarks in those subjects. That places the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades in the bottom quarter when compared with other schools in Hudson County. The most recent science assessment data, which comes from an earlier year, shows a very low proficiency rate in fifth-grade science, though that is a single snapshot from a single tested grade. The number of students tested in each subject is small, which means year-to-year results can swing more dramatically than at a larger school. Parents may want to ask the school about its approach to supporting students who are below grade level and how it tracks academic progress beyond the annual state tests.
Because the school serves only through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. That is not a weakness, simply a function of the grade band. The school sits within the Jersey City Public Schools district, which has launched a new initiative called Mission Forward for the 2025-26 school year, focused on improving test scores, graduation readiness, student behavior, and social media awareness. That district-level strategy may influence the direction of instruction and student support at Barnes.
The housing market in the area is expensive. Home values and rents are high, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home is steep enough that renting is more common for many households. The cost of living in Jersey City has risen sharply as the city has grown, and affordable housing is a topic of active policy and development.
This is a school that fits a family looking for a smallish early-elementary neighborhood school within a large urban district. The test scores are below the county median, so families for whom strong academic outcomes on state assessments are a top priority would want to investigate further how the school addresses learning gaps and whether it offers academic supports that match their child’s needs. The school does not appear to have specialized program offerings or magnet designations, nor does it have publicly reported information on discipline, attendance, or course access, so those are areas a prospective parent would need to ask the school or district about directly. The setting is dense urban with strong transit connections and a rapidly evolving city context, which will suit some families well and feel overwhelming to others.
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