Christopher Columbus School #8

Set in GARFIELD, New Jersey, Christopher Columbus School #8 is a middle-of-the-pack elementary campus, part of Garfield Public School District. It teaches 366 students across grades pre-K through 5.

Across the 11 schools in Garfield Public School District (4,762 students total), Christopher Columbus School #8 accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, Christopher Columbus School #8 logs that 50% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Other groups include 43% White, 5% Black. That is noticeably more Hispanic than the county at large, where the share is closer to 23%.

Looking at school resources, Christopher Columbus School #8 shows 33 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.2:1. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 58% 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 somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Christopher Columbus School #8 performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 34.2%, the actual is 43.4%, a residual of +9.3 points.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Bergen County indicate median household earnings sit near $124,884, 53% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. Across Bergen County's 291 public schools (combined enrollment of about 133,883 students), Christopher Columbus School #8 is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Garfield High School, roughly 0.3 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 7 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Christopher Columbus School #8 ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 39.1%.

The school occupies an outer-ring site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Christopher Columbus School #8 has declined 11%, going from 409 students in 2018 to 366 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment grew from 45% to 50% over that span. Class-load math has tightened: from 12.6:1 in 2018 to 11.2:1 in 2025.

On this page, members of the Christopher Columbus School #8 community share and discuss fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.