Carl W. Goetz Middle School

Located at 835 Patterson Road, in Jackson, New Jersey, Carl W. Goetz Middle School is a well-populated 6-8 campus that caters to 978 students (grades 6 through 8), operated by Jackson Township School District. By comparison, New Jersey's public schools average about 578 students each, so Carl W. Goetz Middle School sits 69% bigger than that benchmark.

Carl W. Goetz Middle School is one of 10 schools operated by Jackson Township School District, a district that instructs 7,627 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Carl W. Goetz Middle School logs that 57% of the student body identifies as White. Beyond that, the school logs 30% Hispanic, 5% Black, 4% multiracial, 3% Asian. By comparison, Ocean County as a whole is about 83% White, so the school skews considerably less White than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Carl W. Goetz Middle School logs 78 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 10.9:1, putting Carl W. Goetz Middle School higher than the state norm the norm. About 37% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Carl W. Goetz Middle School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 45.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 41.4%.

In the surrounding community, census data for Ocean County shows median household earnings sit near $89,863, roughly 34% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Carl W. Goetz Middle School is one of 117 public schools in Ocean County (combined enrollment of about 66,051 students).

The closest other public school is Elms Elementary School, roughly 0.5 miles away. Within five miles, there are 5 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Carl W. Goetz Middle School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 42.1%.

Carl W. Goetz Middle School operates from a residential location.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Carl W. Goetz Middle School has shrank 14%, going from 1,140 students in 2018 to 978 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 82% to 57% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.