Heywood Avenue Elementary School, Orange NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Heywood Avenue Elementary School

Heywood Avenue Elementary School is one of the neighborhood schools within the Orange Board of Education School District, serving students from preschool through seventh grade. The school sits in Orange, a densely populated urban township in Essex County with a mix of residential streets and commercial corridors. The high density and grid street pattern give the area a walkable feel, and NJ Transit bus and rail service run through the township. Orange has seen population growth over recent decades. The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Its enrollment is modest for a school covering that many grades, with a student body that is majority Black and includes a significant Hispanic population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The district context matters here. Orange is one of the former Abbott districts, now called SDA districts, meaning the state covers all costs for school building and renovation projects through the Schools Development Authority, a lasting structural commitment to facilities. Voters recently approved a shift from a mayor-appointed board to an elected board, a change that puts school governance directly in residents’ hands for the first time and affects how policy and budget decisions are made. Within the district, families have the option of STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges, a specialized high school with a STEM focus.

On state assessments, the picture is mixed across subjects and grades. In English language arts, results vary noticeably by grade level. The lower elementary grades show proficiency rates that are modest, while the seventh-grade cohort posts a considerably stronger result. In math, the pattern is broadly similar: the elementary grades report proficiency rates that are modest, and again the seventh-grade group performs higher. Science testing, which occurs in fifth grade, shows a lower proficiency rate. Looking across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint relative to districts in Essex County. A parent may want to ask the school how it supports students who are not yet meeting proficiency benchmarks, especially in the earlier grades, and what explains the stronger performance in seventh grade.

Because the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism was not available, nor were details on staffing such as teacher experience or student-to-staff ratios. Information on the school’s own course offerings and arts or enrichment programs was not part of the provided data. The district’s SDA status means that capital projects are state-funded, which may be relevant for facilities quality, but no specific recent building work at this school was reported.

The housing market in the broader area shows that homes in the zip code carry a value that is roughly on par with the national benchmark, though below the state average. Rents have been rising, and the mortgage-to-rent comparison suggests that renting is currently more affordable than buying for a typical household. The county’s housing market shows a moderate level of inventory and a median listing price that has held fairly steady.

For a family considering Heywood Avenue Elementary, the school offers a full pre-K through seventh grade pathway within one building, a diverse student body, and a school that is part of a district with state-backed facilities funding and a newly elected board. The proficiency data points to areas where the school is working to lift student performance, particularly in elementary math and reading, while seventh grade shows a positive signal in both ELA and math. A parent will want to learn more about how the school addresses those early-grade outcomes and what enrichment or support programs are available.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 21% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 27% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 20% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 23% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 28% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 27% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 37% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 35% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 45% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 764%

School 64% · District 49% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Science

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 11% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolORANGE BOARD OF EDUCATION 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income28%Higher-income40%12 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income54%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income47%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income41%Higher-income53%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income61%Higher-income67%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income32%Higher-income38%6 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income39%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income22%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income33%6 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income40%Higher-income42%2 pp gap