Charles R Smith Early Chilhood Center

Charles R Smith Early Chilhood Center operates as a modestly sized elementary-level community in PALISADES PARK, New Jersey, overseen by Palisades Park School District. Current enrollment sits at 277 students spanning grades pre-K through K. Compared to the state average of about 405 students per school, that is 32% below typical.

Charles R Smith Early Chilhood Center is one of 3 schools operated by Palisades Park School District, a district that works with 1,786 students overall.

In terms of who attends, Charles R Smith Early Chilhood Center shows that 70% of the student body identifies as Hispanic. Beyond that, the school logs 20% Asian, 8% White. The wider county runs roughly 23% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 41 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 6.8:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 11.4:1 average. An estimated 62% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Bergen County runs at roughly 28%, so the school's eligibility rate is higher than the surrounding baseline.

In the broader community, census data for Bergen County shows the typical household earns roughly $124,884 per year, about 53% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 5%. Across Bergen County's 291 public schools (combined enrollment of about 133,883 students), Charles R Smith Early Chilhood Center is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Lindbergh Elementary School, roughly 0.3 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Charles R Smith Early Chilhood Center.

The campus sits in an outer-ring setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Charles R Smith Early Chilhood Center has rose 5%, going from 263 students in 2018 to 277 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 44% to 70% across the same window.

In the discussion threads here, members of the Charles R Smith Early Chilhood Center community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.