South Harrison Elementary School, Harrisonville NJ

Original Research by School Decision on South Harrison Elementary School

South Harrison Elementary School is the single school in the South Harrison Township School District, serving students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The school sits in Harrisonville, a very small unincorporated community and census-designated place within South Harrison Township, Gloucester County. Harrisonville is overwhelmingly residential and rural, with housing that is predominantly owner-occupied. The area has no commercial core to speak of, and the school functions as the primary civic institution for families in this low-density township setting. The community was first listed as a census-designated place in 2020, so formal population tracking is very recent, and the small base makes growth rates volatile.

The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it is the only school in the South Harrison Township School District. It serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, which means students move on to a different school for middle and high school, likely in a neighboring district or a regional arrangement. Because the school stops at sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report here, and no high school course offerings such as Advanced Placement or dual-credit pathways.

Enrollment is small, and the student body is predominantly white, with small shares of Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a lower rate than many schools in the region. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available, so a parent with a child who has special education needs or is learning English may want to ask the school directly about those supports.

On state assessments, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among districts in Gloucester County. That is a strong result. Looking at the grade-level detail, third and fourth graders posted solid proficiency rates in both math and English language arts. Fifth grade results were more mixed, with math and English proficiency rates that were lower than the earlier grades, and science proficiency at a similar level. Sixth grade math showed a notable drop, with a proficiency rate well below the school’s own earlier grades, while sixth grade English held at a moderate level. A parent may want to ask the school about the math trajectory from fifth to sixth grade and what supports are in place.

The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it does not appear to have Title I status. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary shifts, program launches, or leadership turnover, so the school appears to be operating in a stable administrative context. Harrisonville itself is a very small, rural residential place with no commercial core, and the school is the main public institution families interact with. For a family looking for a small elementary school in a quiet, low-density setting with above-average test performance in the early grades, South Harrison Elementary fits that profile. The drop in sixth grade math is a soft spot worth a conversation with the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 70%

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

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 33%

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

English language arts

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 58%

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

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 47%

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

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 55%

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

Science

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

This schoolSouth Harrison 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.