Daretown School

Daretown School is a multi-level school of rural-scale scale in ELMER, New Jersey, operated by Salem County Special Services School District, instructing 28 students in grades pre-K through 12. Compared to the state average of about 934 students per school, that is 97% leaner than typical.

Daretown School is one of 3 schools operated by Salem County Special Services School District, a district that serves 169 students overall.

Demographically, Daretown School logs that the most-represented group is Black (54%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups; the rest comes out to 21% Hispanic, 14% White, 11% multiracial. By comparison, Salem County as a whole is about 15% Black, so the school skews considerably more Black than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Daretown School logs 5 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 5.6:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.8:1 average. Roughly 64% of students at Daretown School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Salem County runs at roughly 45%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat above the surrounding baseline.

In the surrounding community, Salem County reports that the typical household earns roughly $79,960 per year, about 25% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 9%. Across Salem County's 33 public schools (combined enrollment of about 11,156 students), Daretown School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Upper Pittsgrove School, roughly 3.1 miles away. 7 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

Daretown School operates from a low-density location.

Looking at the recent track record. Daretown School's enrollment has edged down 3% since 2018, when it stood at 29 (now 28). Over the same period, the White share contracted from 38% to 14%. Class-load math has widened: from 2.9:1 in 2018 to 5.6:1 in 2025.

On allk12, the feed for Daretown School typically covers sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.