Mary E. Volz Elementary School, Runnemede NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Mary E. Volz Elementary School

Mary E. Volz Elementary School serves students in grades four through eight in Runnemede, a small, primarily residential borough in Camden County, New Jersey. The school is the upper-grade campus for the Runnemede Public School District, drawing students who have completed kindergarten through third grade at one of the district's two K-3 schools. After eighth grade, students go on to Triton Regional High School, which is part of a separate regional district.

The community itself is a compact, suburban borough without a traditional pedestrian downtown. Commercial corridors run along the Black Horse Pike and other state highways, and the New Jersey Turnpike passes through the northern part of town. NJ Transit provides bus service to Philadelphia, making the borough a commuter-oriented place. Notable as the longtime headquarters of the Mister Softee ice cream truck franchiser, Runnemede has seen a slow population decline over recent decades, and its small geographic size limits large-scale development. The housing market in the wider Camden County area has shown some heat, with median listing prices rising and properties spending a fairly short time on the market. Housing units in the borough are predominantly owner-occupied, with a modest share of households that include children.

At Mary E. Volz, the student body is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic population and even smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. A notable portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment is spread across grades four through eight, with no early elementary grades present. The school is a regular public school and part of the Runnemede district; it is not a charter or magnet school.

State test results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment show a mixed picture across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, the share of students scoring at proficient or advanced levels rises steadily from grade four through grade seven, where it reaches a clear majority, before pulling back slightly in grade eight. That upward trajectory through the middle grades is a strength worth noting. In mathematics, the pattern is less consistent. Proficiency rates are modest in grades four through seven and drop sharply in grade eight, where very few students meet the bar. Science results, available for grades five and eight, are low in grade five and quite low in grade eight. A parent looking at these numbers may want to ask the school how it supports math and science learning, particularly as students near the transition to high school. The school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Camden County.

No data was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or course access, so it is not possible to speak to those dimensions of the school environment. Because the school serves grades four through eight, there is no graduation rate to report. No information was provided about special education or English learner populations. The district brief turned up little in the way of recent parent-relevant changes or strategic initiatives.

For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a small, middle-grades building in a stable, commuter-oriented borough. The ELA results show genuine strength in the upper middle grades, a point in favor. The math and science results are softer and would benefit from a direct conversation with school staff about curriculum and interventions. The absence of high school on site means families will need to look ahead to Triton Regional when the time comes. There is no indication of major growth or disruption in Runnemede, which may appeal to those seeking a settled community context.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 32%

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

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 20%

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

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 34%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 9%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 45%

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

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 53%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 62%

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

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 54%

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

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 23%

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

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 9%

▼ 4 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolRunnemede 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income18%Higher-income34%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income53%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income36%Higher-income66%30 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income46%Higher-income69%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income53%Higher-income56%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income18%Higher-income32%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income26%Higher-income38%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income3%Higher-income32%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income38%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income4%Higher-income12%8 pp gap