The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Dr. Maya Angelou Elementary School
Dr. Maya Angelou Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Jersey City’s Greenville neighborhood. It is a regular public school within the Jersey City Public Schools district, one of 39 schools in a large, urban system. The school’s enrollment is large for an elementary building, drawing from a surrounding community that is dense, walkable, and well-connected by PATH trains, NJ Transit buses, and ferry service to Manhattan. Housing values in the 07305 zip code sit above the national median but have edged slightly downward recently, while rents continue to climb. The local market is expensive; a typical mortgage would cost noticeably more than the median rent, and rent alone consumes a substantial share of typical area income.
The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, together making up the large majority of the enrollment. White students account for a small share, with Asian and multiracial students present in modest numbers. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school’s demographics reflect the diversity of Jersey City itself, a place where many languages are spoken and a large portion of residents were born outside the United States. State data on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner designations was not available.
On state assessments, the results call for a direct conversation. In English language arts, proficiency rates in third and fourth grade sit around the midpoint of the tested cohort, with just under half of students meeting the state’s bar. Fifth-grade ELA proficiency falls noticeably lower, landing below that mark. In math, the pattern is weaker across all three tested grades, and in science, only a small fraction of fifth graders reached the proficiency threshold. When measured against other districts in Hudson County, the school’s overall proficiency index lands below the midpoint of the comparison set. A parent exploring this school would want to ask the school directly about its academic improvement strategy and how it supports students who arrive below grade level.
No data was available for chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, or staffing ratios, so a full picture of the school environment is incomplete from public records alone. The district launched a new initiative called “Mission Forward” for the 2025-26 school year, focused on raising test scores and graduation readiness as well as addressing student behavior and social media awareness. That district-level priority may shape the school’s approach in the near term.
Because this school ends at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The building does not serve high school students, so that metric simply does not apply here. After fifth grade, students would move on to a middle school within the Jersey City system, and a family would want to learn which middle school their zoned attendance area feeds into.
The school is named for Dr. Maya Angelou, the acclaimed poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. It sits on Ocean Avenue, in a residential stretch of Jersey City’s Greenville section. The immediate area is a mix of older low-rise homes and apartment buildings, with neighborhood commercial corridors nearby. The city’s broader redevelopment, particularly along the waterfront, has transformed large swaths of Jersey City over the past two decades, but Greenville remains less affected by the high-rise boom than the Downtown and Journal Square areas. The school is a regular zoned public school, not a magnet or charter, so attendance is determined by residential address within its catchment area. For a family considering this school, the most significant known factor is the state testing profile, which shows pockets of strength in early-grade literacy and clear challenges in math and science, especially as students progress through the grades. A visit to the school and a conversation with the principal about how the school intends to address these patterns would be the logical next step.
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