The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Maple Road Elementary School
Maple Road Elementary School is a regular public school in West Milford, New Jersey, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is one of five elementary schools in the West Milford Township Public School District, a system that also includes a single middle school and one high school. The school sits in a largely residential and rural township in northern Passaic County, an area defined by lakes, watersheds, and extensive permanently protected open space.
Academically, the school shows a mixed picture that parents will want to examine closely. On the state’s standardized assessments, performance varies noticeably by grade level and subject. In third and fourth grades, proficiency rates sit above the district’s and county’s midpoints in both math and English language arts. By fifth grade, however, the pattern shifts: the share of students meeting proficiency drops sharply in math, ELA, and science. The fifth-grade science results are particularly low. The overall proficiency index across all tested grades and subjects ranks above the midpoint when compared with other districts in Passaic County, but that composite number masks the clear step-down in fifth grade. Because the school ends at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and no chronic absenteeism data was available in the source material.
The student body is small and demographically narrow. A very low share of students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, and the population is overwhelmingly white, with a modest Hispanic minority and few students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not included in the available records.
West Milford itself shapes the school’s context in important ways. The township covers more than eighty square miles, with much of that land permanently protected as watershed and open space under the Highlands Regional Master Plan. Housing consists largely of lakefront homes and secluded valley residences, many originally seasonal bungalows converted to year-round use, along with newer homes on one- to four-acre lots and two condominium developments. There is no traditional downtown; the community is car-dependent, with Route 23 serving as the main commercial corridor. The population has been declining modestly over recent decades, and the district closed one elementary school, Westbrook, for the start of the 2023-24 school year—a move consistent with falling enrollment. The housing market in Passaic County has seen rising median listing prices and a relatively low supply, with homes typically spending just a few weeks on the market.
No major program offerings, course access data, or discipline information was provided for Maple Road. The district brief identified no recent changes with lasting parent-relevant impact.
For families considering this school, the key takeaway is an elementary experience that performs well in the early primary grades but shows a notable drop-off as students approach the transition to middle school. The surrounding community is quiet, spread out, and constrained by environmental protections, with limited commercial activity and a shrinking school-age population. The school fits a family seeking a small, predominantly homogenous setting in a lake-and-woods environment, but those who value consistent academic strength across all elementary grades may want to look into the fifth-year outcomes further with the school or district.
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