The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in Math. The lowest is 37% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Charles F. Seabrook School
Charles F. Seabrook School serves students from prekindergarten through second grade in the rural community of Seabrook, within Upper Deerfield Township. Because the school only covers the earliest grade levels, it does not have a graduation rate, and state testing data is limited to a single year for third graders, which is the only tested grade the school enrolls. For the third graders who took the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, the share scoring proficient or above in math and English language arts fell below half of students tested. The school’s overall proficiency index, which combines results across tested subjects and grades, places Seabrook in the top quartile among Cumberland County school districts, a position that reflects only its third-grade results and should be weighed against the very limited grade span.
The student body is diverse. Hispanic students make up the largest group, followed by white students, Black students, and smaller shares of multiracial and Asian students. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a substantial share of households have lower incomes. Enrollment totals a few hundred children spread across prekindergarten, kindergarten, first, and second grades, with the largest single grade being prekindergarten.
Seabrook is an unincorporated community deeply tied to the history of Seabrook Farms, the industrial vegetable operation founded by Charles F. Seabrook. The company recruited Japanese Americans from internment camps during and after World War II, along with European refugees and migrant laborers from Appalachia, the Deep South, and the Caribbean, creating a multicultural heritage that is unusual for this part of New Jersey. The Seabrook Educational and Cultural Center, located on Highway 77, documents that history. The built environment consists of residential clusters and agricultural land along the highway. There is no traditional walkable downtown; schools and civic buildings are spread along the corridor. The population of the Seabrook Farms census-designated place has declined over recent decades, and no major new housing developments were identified in available sources. The ZIP code covering a broader area shows growth, but the immediate community appears stable or slowly contracting.
The district recently expanded its prekindergarten program, using state Preschool Expansion Aid to serve more three- and four-year-olds at Elizabeth F. Moore School. That expansion matters directly for families considering Charles F. Seabrook School, because the school itself serves prekindergarten, and the district is investing in early childhood access. Beyond that, public information about recent district-level changes is limited.
For a parent considering this school, the most important factor is the grade span. This is a school that only covers the first few years of elementary education. Students who attend here will move to another Upper Deerfield Township school after second grade to continue through the upper elementary and middle grades, and then to Cumberland Regional High School. That means the school is a starting point, not a destination. The academic data is thin because the school does not serve tested grades in most years, so the picture of student performance is incomplete. Families who want to evaluate the full academic trajectory will need to look at the district’s older elementary and secondary schools. The prekindergarten expansion is a concrete benefit for families seeking early childhood programming. The community is small, rural, and auto-oriented, with a distinctive multicultural history that may appeal to families who value that context. Housing values in the area are well below state and national benchmarks, and the area has not seen rapid price growth. For a family looking for an early elementary school in a quiet, low-cost rural setting with an expanded pre-K offering, Charles F. Seabrook School fits. For families who want a fuller picture of academic outcomes or a school that carries students through the end of elementary or into middle school, this is only one piece of a longer pipeline worth investigating.
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