Elementary Schools in Jersey City Public Schools

The Jersey City Public Schools district contains 26 elementary schools serving grades PK-8, with most being traditional elementary schools for grades PK-5 or PK-8. While the district as a whole is ranked 455 out of 609 districts in New Jersey and rated 1 star out of 5 by SchoolDigger, a few standout schools demonstrate exceptional performance within the district.

Cornelia F. Bradford School consistently ranks among the top 4 elementary schools in New Jersey, with 5-star ratings and significantly higher student test scores than the district and state averages. Dr. Michael Conti School and Jotham W. Wakeman School also stand out, with statewide rankings in the top 342 and 179 elementary schools, respectively, and 4-star ratings from SchoolDigger. However, the majority of schools in the district lag behind state averages in both English Language Arts and math proficiency, suggesting significant achievement gaps within the district.

Across the district, schools exhibit a wide range of student demographics and resource allocation, with free/reduced lunch rates varying from 8.31% to 77.45% and per-student spending ranging from $6,621 to $16,245. This variability in school quality and funding points to potential equity issues that may be contributing to the overall academic struggles of the district. Additionally, the uniformly high chronic absenteeism rate of 14.9% across all schools is a significant challenge that likely impacts student outcomes.