Fort Dix Elementary School, Fort Dix NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Fort Dix Elementary School

Fort Dix Elementary School serves children from preschool through fifth grade on the grounds of a United States Army installation, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. It is a regular public school within the Pemberton Township School District, one of two civilian districts that cover the base's census-designated place. The school's setting is unusual: Fort Dix is a secured military post with controlled gates, training ranges, garrison buildings, and a federal prison, not a conventional town with a downtown or a pedestrian grid. Families living on the base, whether military or civilian personnel, send their children here.

The school enrolls a modest number of students for an elementary serving seven grade levels, including a sizable prekindergarten cohort. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse, with the largest group identifying as white, followed by Hispanic, Black, and two or more races. Asian and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students also attend. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the range of family incomes on the base.

State assessment results are available for grades three through five in math and English language arts, and for fifth grade in science. Performance varies by grade and subject. In third grade, math proficiency is somewhat above half and ELA falls just below half. Fourth grade sees a dip in both subjects, with about two in five students meeting the proficiency bar. Fifth grade shows a stronger picture in ELA, where roughly three in five students are proficient, while math proficiency is above half. Fifth-grade science proficiency is lower, with about a third of students reaching the standard. Because the school serves prekindergarten through second grade, there are no state test results for those early grades. No data on special education identification rates or English learner status was reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.

When placed against other schools in Burlington County, Fort Dix Elementary's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint. That suggests its academic performance is generally in the middle-upper range among area schools, though the picture is uneven by grade and subject.

The community context matters here. Fort Dix is a military installation that has undergone realignment: it lost its active-duty basic training mission under a Base Realignment and Closure decision years ago, then transitioned to a reserve training role and became part of the Department of Defense's only three-service joint base. The post now employs a significant number of people and serves as a mobilization point for reserve and National Guard units. There is no civilian housing market beyond the base perimeter; residential growth is tied to military needs, not private development. Civic amenities like child care and gyms are provided internally by the joint base. Off-base towns such as Pemberton and Wrightstown offer libraries, parks, and other services, but daily life for families on the post revolves around the secure campus.

The district brief did not identify any recent changes at the district level that would affect families in a lasting way, so the school and its programs appear stable.

For a family stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Fort Dix Elementary offers an elementary education within the secure perimeter, with a diverse student body and overall proficiency that is above the county midpoint, though with some variation by grade. Families who prefer a traditional neighborhood elementary with a military-connected peer environment will find it here. The limited off-base amenities and the controlled-access setting are important to consider.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 32% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 20% · ▲ 22 pts above district

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

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 18% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 32% · ▲ 13 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 30% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 30% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 15% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolPemberton Township 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-income56%Higher-income38%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income53%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income63%Higher-income54%9 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income40%5 pp gap