Grover Cleveland Elementary School, Newark NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Grover Cleveland Elementary School

Grover Cleveland Elementary School is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Newark, New Jersey’s most populous city and the county seat of Essex County. It is part of the Newark Public School District, a large urban system that was under state control for a lengthy period before control was returned and which, publicly reported, was declared a High Performing District by the state in mid-2026. That designation applies to the district as a whole, not to any single school, and families considering Cleveland will want to weigh what it means at the building level.

The school sits on Bergen Street in a dense, mixed-use city that is a major employment center and transit hub. Newark’s economy includes large corporate headquarters, universities, hospitals, the port, and the airport. The city is organized into five wards, and the school draws from a neighborhood that is urban and walkable, with NJ Transit bus and light rail lines nearby and Newark Penn Station a short distance away. Housing in the area, based on market data, is moderately priced compared with the state median, though affordability relative to incomes is a consideration for many residents. The city has seen population growth and revitalization investment since the 1990s.

Cleveland’s enrollment is modest for a school serving such a broad grade span, with slightly over 300 students across grades PK through 8. The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with a very small share of other racial groups. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the high poverty rate in the surrounding area. Data on the share of students with disabilities and English learners was not reported, so a complete picture of the school’s student support needs is not available from the data provided.

State assessment results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA) are available for math, English language arts, and science for grades 3 through 8. In math, the percentage of students scoring proficient or above was low across all tested grades, ranging from a modest share in third grade to a very small share in fifth grade. In English language arts, results were mixed: third and eighth graders had somewhat higher proficiency rates, while fifth graders had a very low rate. In science, tested in grades 5 and 8, the proficiency rate was extremely low, with essentially no fifth graders reaching the proficient level and a very small share of eighth graders doing so. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency across all subjects and grades places it among the lowest performing schools relative to other districts in Essex County. A parent may want to ask the school directly about the specific instructional strategies and supports it has in place for math and science, where results are weakest.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data and discipline data were not available. Participation rates for state assessments were also missing, which means it is not possible to know what share of enrolled students actually took the tests, though the number of tested students is reported for each grade and appears to cover most of the enrollment in those grades.

Grover Cleveland Elementary School is a neighborhood public school in a large urban district that has recently received a state-level designation for improved performance at the district level. At the school itself, academic outcomes on state assessments are low, especially in math and science, and the student body faces high economic disadvantage. Families considering this school should visit, talk to the principal about academic interventions and enrichment opportunities, and understand how the school’s programming aligns with their child’s needs. The district has launched a strategic plan running through 2030 and has opened several new career-themed high schools, which could be relevant for families thinking ahead to the transition to ninth grade.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 314%

School 14% · District 28% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 46%

School 6% · District 23% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 53%

School 3% · District 22% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 68%

School 8% · District 18% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 76%

School 6% · District 21% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 12% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 28% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 415%

School 15% · District 30% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 53%

School 3% · District 31% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 51 pts below state median · ▼ 45 pts below county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 36% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 38% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 10% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 86%

School 6% · District 6%

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolNewark Public 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.