The top reported proficiency rate is 77% in Math. The lowest is 51% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on River Plaza Elementary School
River Plaza Elementary School is a regular public school in Red Bank, New Jersey, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Middletown Township Public School District. The school’s location in the borough means it sits within a densely populated commuter town roughly 24 miles south of Manhattan, with a walkable downtown core along Broad Street, an NJ Transit train station, and a number of cultural and civic anchors including the Count Basie Center for the Arts and Marine Park on the Navesink River. The community context is urban and compact, with a commercial downtown that blends national retailers with local businesses, and major employers like Riverview Medical Center nearby. For a parent considering this school, the setting offers the amenities of a lively downtown and train access to New York City, though the housing market reflects that desirability: home values in the area are well above national benchmarks, and rents are high relative to incomes, making this a comparatively expensive place to live.
Academically, River Plaza performs at a level that places it in the top quartile among districts in Monmouth County for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. State assessment results show that in math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was strong in third grade, remained solid in fourth grade, and was similarly solid in fifth grade. In English language arts, the pattern was likewise strong, with the share proficient or above in third grade also solid, then rising in both fourth and fifth grades. These results tell a picture of a school where the large majority of students are meeting grade-level expectations in reading and math, with particularly high performance in the upper elementary grades for ELA. In science, which is tested in fifth grade, roughly half of students scored proficient or above, a softer spot that a parent may want to look into further with the school. Because the school only serves grades K-5, there is no graduation rate to report; that is a natural consequence of the grade band, not a missing metric.
The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of Hispanic students and a small number of students who identify as two or more races. A very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with relatively high economic means. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source material. Enrollment is moderate for an elementary school of this grade span, with the largest single grade being second grade and the smallest being third grade. The school is not a charter or magnet school, and no Title I status was reported.
River Plaza feeds into the Middletown Township Public School District, which operates a network of elementary, middle, and high schools. The district brief turned up no specific recent changes of the kind that would directly affect a parent’s day-to-day experience, such as boundary shifts or program consolidations. That absence of information means a parent should check directly with the district for any upcoming adjustments.
For a family deciding whether this school is a fit, the picture is fairly clear. River Plaza delivers strong academic results, particularly in math and English language arts, for a student population that is economically advantaged and predominantly white. The school sits in a dense, walkable, amenity-rich borough with high housing costs and strong commuter ties to New York City. The soft spots are the science results, which are notably lower than the math and ELA performance, and the absence of student support data such as special education and English learner counts. A parent whose child needs those supports should ask the school directly about how they are staffed and served. For families who can afford the area and value a high-performing elementary school with a compact, downtown-adjacent feel, River Plaza is a strong option within the Monmouth County landscape.
See more original research from School Decision →