Frank W. Gavlak Elementary School, Wallington NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Frank W. Gavlak Elementary School

Frank W. Gavlak Elementary School serves grades three through six in Wallington, a compact, primarily residential borough in the southwest corner of Bergen County. The borough is small and fully developed, with commercial and industrial uses concentrated along its periphery. Its population is dense, and a substantial share of residents speak a language other than English at home. The school is one of three in the Wallington Boro School District, all located within the borough’s single square mile, and sits near the high school and athletic fields. The district does not have a separate middle school; Gavlak covers the upper elementary years before students move to Wallington High School for grades seven through twelve.

The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up a large minority. A meaningful share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school’s enrollment is moderate for a grade band of four year-levels. This is a school where a family can expect their child to attend for grades three through six in a single building before a transition to a combined junior-senior high school setting.

On state assessments, Gavlak’s results show a clear pattern. In English language arts, proficiency rates climb across the grades. Third grade is a soft spot, with a rate that is lower than the other tested grades and likely a point of focus for the school. Fourth grade is stronger, and fifth and sixth grade both reach a level that is closer to or above the midpoint among districts in Bergen County. In math, the picture is more level across the grades, with each year’s rate falling in a moderate range that is below the county midpoint for the school overall. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows a rate that is well below the other subjects. A parent may want to ask the school about its science curriculum and how it prepares students for that assessment.

The school does not have a graduation rate because it does not serve high school grades. Data on chronic absenteeism and on special populations such as students with disabilities and English learners was not available. Without that information, it is harder to assess the full student support picture. A family with a child who receives special education services or is an English learner may want to ask the school directly about those programs.

The community is a dense, walkable borough with limited space for new development. Housing values in Wallington are well above the national benchmark, and the market shows a high supply score and a moderate demand score, typical of a competitive Bergen County market. The borough’s schools and civic buildings are woven into the residential fabric rather than set apart on large campuses. Commercial activity is strung along the main avenues rather than concentrated in a traditional downtown. NJ Transit bus routes connect Wallington to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, and the Bergen County Line rail passes through, which matters for commuting families.

The district itself does not appear to have undergone any major recent changes that would reshape a family’s academic experience, based on available information. The schools are a stable, established feature of this built-out borough. For a family considering Wallington, Gavlak Elementary would be the building their child enters for the upper elementary years, and the academic trajectory suggests a need for support in the early years of that span, particularly in English language arts in third grade and in science by fifth grade.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 70%

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

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 72%

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

Science

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 28%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

This schoolWallington Boro 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-income34%Higher-income38%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income55%Higher-income66%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income62%Higher-income76%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income69%Higher-income75%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income47%Higher-income63%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income45%Higher-income58%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income56%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income47%Higher-income48%1 pp gap