The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 42% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Harrison Elementary School
Harrison Elementary School is a regular public school in Roselle that serves grades one through four, with a pre-kindergarten program also housed in the building. It is one of seven schools in the Roselle Public School District and sits within a densely populated, compact suburban borough in Union County. The school’s enrollment is small for its grade band, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the economic circumstances of many families in the community.
The academic picture at Harrison comes from state testing in math and English language arts for third and fourth graders. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school above the midpoint among districts in Union County, a solid position for a school serving early elementary grades. But the results are not uniform. In math, about half of third graders met the state’s proficiency standard, while a smaller share of fourth graders did so. The fourth-grade math result is a soft spot that a parent may want to explore further with the school. In English language arts, the pattern reverses: fewer than half of third graders were proficient, while a majority of fourth graders met the bar. There is no testing data for grades one and two, as those grades are not assessed, so the school’s full academic picture is limited to what the state measures for upper elementary students.
The student body is racially and economically diverse. A large majority of students identify as Hispanic, with a sizeable Black population and small shares of white, Asian, and multiracial students. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not reported in the available records, which means a parent looking at specialized supports would need to ask the school directly. Chronic absenteeism figures and discipline statistics are also absent from the data we reviewed, so those dimensions of the school environment cannot be characterized here.
Roselle itself is a walkable borough with a grid of residential streets, modest single-family and multi-family homes, and a commercial corridor along Chestnut Street. The borough’s small geographic footprint means most neighborhoods are close to parks and shops. Warinanco Park, a county park that spans Roselle and nearby Elizabeth, serves as a major recreational anchor. Schools are integrated into the residential fabric rather than clustered on a separate campus, so Harrison Elementary sits within a neighborhood setting. The district has not recently undergone major changes that would be visible to parents, based on our research.
For a family considering Harrison, the school offers a small, neighborhood-based elementary experience with overall proficiency that ranks favorably relative to other Union County districts. The student body is economically diverse, and the school serves only primary grades, so there is no graduation rate or high school pathway to evaluate at this level. The variation in test scores by grade and subject suggests that academic outcomes are not consistent across the board, and the lack of certain data points such as special education and chronic absenteeism means a thorough conversation with the school’s staff would be essential for any family weighing an enrollment decision. The surrounding borough provides a dense, walkable environment with accessible public transit and community amenities, which may appeal to families who value an integrated school-neighborhood relationship.
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