Summary:
The 08341 zip code has only one school, Dr. J.P. Cleary Elementary School, which serves grades 3-5 and is part of the Buena Regional School District. With a total enrollment of 341 students, this school has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of New Jersey elementary schools over the past three years, indicating significant academic challenges.
Dr. J.P. Cleary Elementary School faces several key issues. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 14.9% is higher than the state average, and its proficiency rates on the NJSLA assessments are significantly below the state averages in both English Language Arts and Mathematics across grades 3-5. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's 5th-grade proficiency rates were 39.1% in ELA and 24.5% in Math, compared to the state averages of 52.7% and 44.2%, respectively. Additionally, a high percentage of the school's students, 58.65%, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage.
The school's relatively low spending per student of $10,856 and high student-teacher ratio of 14.2 in the 2023-2024 school year may suggest that the school faces resource challenges that could be impacting its ability to provide a high-quality education. Overall, the data paints a picture of a struggling school that is underperforming academically and serving a population with significant economic challenges, which may require targeted interventions and additional support to improve student outcomes.
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