Passaic City School District

The Passaic City School District consists of 17 schools, including 11 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 3 high schools, serving a predominantly low-income student population. The district as a whole is ranked 540 out of 609 in New Jersey and is rated 1 star out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

While the district faces significant challenges, a few schools stand out as bright spots. Passaic Gifted and Talented Academy School No. 20, a middle school, ranks 257 out of 752 New Jersey middle schools and is rated 3 out of 5 stars, with significantly higher test scores than the district and state averages. Similarly, Passaic Academy for Science and Engineering, a high school, ranks 146 out of 434 New Jersey high schools and is rated 3 out of 5 stars, with strong performance in math and science. Another high-performing high school is Passaic Preparatory Academy, which ranks 292 out of 434 in the state and has high graduation rates and relatively low dropout rates compared to the district.

However, the district as a whole faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates across all schools, wide performance gaps between the highest and lowest performing schools, and equity concerns due to the extremely high rates of free and reduced-price lunch recipients. Addressing these issues and replicating the successful practices observed in the higher-performing schools could be crucial in driving broader improvements across the Passaic City School District.