Deanna G. Taylor Academy

Deanna G. Taylor Academy is one of the modestly sized K-5 schools in HILLSIDE, New Jersey, one of the schools within Hillside Public School District, with 202 students on its rolls from grades 2 through 6. Compared to the state average of about 405 students per school, that is 50% leaner than typical.

Hillside Public School District runs 7 schools in total, collectively educating 2,957 students. Deanna G. Taylor Academy is one of those campuses.

Looking at the student body, Deanna G. Taylor Academy records that the most-represented group is Black (55%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school records 31% Hispanic, 10% White. By comparison, Union County as a whole is about 20% Black, so the school skews considerably more Black than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 10.1:1 students per teacher. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 11.4:1 average. Around 73% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Union County (around 52%), the school's rate is north of typical.

With demographic context factored in, Deanna G. Taylor Academy performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 26.3%, the actual is 26.7%, a residual of +0.4 points.

In the surrounding community, ACS estimates for Union County put the typical household earns roughly $103,202 per year, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. In all, Union County runs 180 public schools (combined enrollment of about 99,046 students), of which Deanna G. Taylor Academy is one.

Nearest neighbor: Hurden Looker Elementary School, around 0.7 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Deanna G. Taylor Academy ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 33.3%.

Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.

Looking at the recent track record. Deanna G. Taylor Academy's enrollment has ticked down 5% since 2018, when it stood at 212 (now 202). The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 11.8:1 in 2018 to 10.1:1 today.

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