Marie V. Duffy Elementary School, Wharton NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Marie V. Duffy Elementary School

Marie V. Duffy Elementary School serves the Wharton community as a regular public elementary school in the Wharton Borough School District, covering prekindergarten through fifth grade. Wharton is a small, densely settled borough in the Morris County highlands with a history rooted in iron-ore mining and canal shipping, and today it has a substantial Hispanic and Latino population. The school sits on East Central Avenue, integrated into the borough’s residential fabric rather than on a separate campus. High school students from Wharton attend Morris Hills High School through a regional district arrangement. Because this school serves only elementary grades, no graduation rate is reported, and that is simply a function of its grade span.

On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, the most recent results show a mixed picture. In English language arts, fourth graders posted the strongest outcomes, with roughly half of students meeting proficiency standards. Third and fifth graders were close behind. Math proficiency was lower across all tested grades. Science proficiency was weaker still, with a modest share of fifth graders reaching the state benchmark. When compared to other districts in Morris County, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. These results may give a parent pause, particularly in math and science, and it would be reasonable to ask the school about academic support strategies and how they are working to move these numbers.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with White students making up the next largest group, followed by smaller shares of Black and Asian students. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a standard indicator of household income. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source records. The school enrolls a modest total across kindergarten through fifth grade, with each grade averaging a size typical of a community this scale.

Wharton itself is compact and relatively dense for Morris County, with a built environment shaped by its canal-era and industrial origins. Hugh Force Canal Park provides walking trails along the former Morris Canal route. The borough sits just south of Picatinny Arsenal, a major Army research and development center that anchors the local employment base. Home values in the area are substantial, though not at the highest end of the county market, and the housing market has been active with a moderate pace of price growth. The borough has experienced population growth in recent decades and has been addressing affordable housing obligations through a collaborative planning group.

No recent district-level changes or initiatives were found in available reporting, so there is little to add from that angle. The school itself offers no specialized programs or pathways in the source data, which is typical for an elementary school serving only the early and middle grades. Parents looking for a neighborhood school with a diverse student body in a historic Morris County borough will find a straightforward option here. The academic results warrant a closer conversation with the school’s leadership about how progress is being tracked and what supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 41%

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

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 42%

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 53%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 47%

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

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 19%

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

This schoolWharton Borough 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-income33%Higher-income56%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income68%24 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income63%29 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income35%Higher-income49%14 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income48%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income19%Higher-income49%29 pp gap