Enrollment
326
Elementary
DISTRICT 337 · STATE 405
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TENAFLY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 341611000866
J Spencer Smith School
101 DOWNEY DRIVE, TENAFLY, NJ 07670 · (201) 816-7715 · Bergen County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL326 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 90% of New Jersey public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded New Jersey public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.9:1 · STATE 11.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
2%
5 students
DISTRICT 3% · STATE 41%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 39 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 42 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 59 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 56 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 22% |
| Grade 5 | 57 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (39) is 32% smaller than its 5th grade class (57).
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Tenafly Public School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NJSLA 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
76.1%
NJ avg 53.1% . -4.9pp since 2023
Math
77.9%
NJ avg 41.6% . -1.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 78 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Jersey schools, those numbers are about 53 and 42. Reading and writing scores are down about 5 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 1 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 76.1% | 77.9% |
| 2023-24 | 81.0% | 78.9% |
% Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: NJSLA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
76.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.3%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 76% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% typical for New Jersey schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among New Jersey's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like J Spencer Smith School
J Spencer Smith School's state test result (76.1% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| J Spencer Smith School this school | 326 | 1.5% | 76.1% |
| Alexander Hamilton School GLEN ROCK | 300 | 2.3% | 85.7% |
| Ralph S Maugham School TENAFLY | 358 | 3.9% | 73.4% |
| T. Baldwin Demarest Elementary School OLD TAPPAN | 374 | 0.8% | 71.6% |
| Merritt Memorial CRESSKILL | 282 | 1.4% | 68.1% |
| Hawes Elementary School RIDGEWOOD | 357 | 5.0% | 72.7% |
Matched among New Jersey elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where J Spencer Smith School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Bergen County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 76.1% | #71 of 1,290 | #20 of 137 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 77.9% | #116 of 1,319 ▼ 40 | #34 of 149 ▼ 16 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.1% | #148 of 1,319 ▼ 79 | #48 of 149 ▼ 29 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 326 | #1,004 of 1,562 | #98 of 173 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.6:1 | #792 of 1,390 | #79 of 151 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 56.7% | #622 of 1,392 | #83 of 151 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 1.5% | #1,433 of 1,481 | #136 of 154 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.4% | #456 of 798 | #51 of 85 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
326
-24 (-7%) vs 2020
+40% since 1990-91, when it was 233
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
was 11.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 326 | 28 | 11.6:1 | 2% (5) |
| 2023-24 | 312 | 29.3 | 10.7:1 | 2% (6) |
| 2022-23 | 347 | 27.7 | 12.6:1 | 1% (3) |
| 2020-21 | 350 | 30 | 11.7:1 | 1% (3) |
| 2017-18 | 360 | 28.7 | 12.6:1 | 2% (7) |
| 2015-16 | 371 | 28 | 13.3:1 | 1% (3) |
| 2010-11 | 365 | 22 | 16.6:1 | 0% (0) |
| 2000-01 | 319 | 18 | 17.7:1 | 0% (1) |
| 1990-91 | 233 | 16 | 14.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for J Spencer Smith School.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (360 to 326); teachers down 2% (28.7 to 28).
About J Spencer Smith School
J Spencer Smith School, a small elementary school, is located in TENAFLY, New Jersey. The school had 326 students in kindergarten through 5 in 2024-25.
Tenafly Public School District enrolls 3,404 students in 6 schools, including J Spencer Smith School.
At J Spencer Smith School, White students make up 56% of the student body. The school is also 35% Asian, 6% multiracial, and 4% Hispanic. For comparison, Bergen County is about 55% White. The school's diversity index is 57%, meaning two students picked at random have a 57% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.6:1 at J Spencer Smith School, with 28 full-time-equivalent teachers. For comparison, elementary schools in New Jersey average 11.4:1. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 2%. The average for public schools in Bergen County is 28%.
The allk12 Grade for J Spencer Smith School is A. Compared with New Jersey public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 90% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 76.1%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 65.3%.
In the county around the school, Bergen County, the median household income is $124,884, roughly 53% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. There are 291 public schools in Bergen County, enrolling about 133,883 students in all.
The school nearest to J Spencer Smith School is Donald A. Quarles Early Childhood Center, at a distance of about 0.6 miles. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, J Spencer Smith School places 2nd out of 7 schools in its immediate area.
Under the NCES locale system, J Spencer Smith School is Suburb: Large.
Over 4 years, J Spencer Smith School's enrollment dropped 7%, to 326.
Discussion on this page can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Bergen County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
962,316
Census ACS
Median income
$124,884
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
53%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
291
133,883 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Tenafly Public School District
- Tenafly High SchoolHigh · 1,141 students
- Tenafly Middle SchoolMiddle · 916 students
- Ralph S Maugham SchoolElementary · 358 students
- Malcolm S Mackay SchoolElementary · 349 students
- Walter Stillman SchoolElementary · 314 students
Other schools in TENAFLY
- Tenafly High SchoolHigh · 1,141 students
- Tenafly Middle SchoolMiddle · 916 students
- Ralph S Maugham SchoolElementary · 358 students
- Malcolm S Mackay SchoolElementary · 349 students
- Walter Stillman SchoolElementary · 314 students
Nearby schools
- Donald A. Quarles Early Childhood Center0.6 mi · 434
- Walter Stillman School0.8 mi · 314
- Dr. Leroy McCloud Elementary School0.9 mi · 489
- Dr. John Grieco Elementary School0.9 mi · 499
- Englewood on the Palisades Charter School1.2 mi · 306
- Ralph S Maugham School1.2 mi · 358
Frequently asked questions
About J Spencer Smith SchoolHow many students attend J Spencer Smith School?
J Spencer Smith School enrolls approximately 326 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does J Spencer Smith School serve?
J Spencer Smith School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at J Spencer Smith School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at J Spencer Smith School is approximately 11.6:1 (28 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at J Spencer Smith School?
At J Spencer Smith School, the student body is approximately 56% White, 4% Hispanic, 0% Black, 35% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Is J Spencer Smith School public or private?
J Spencer Smith School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Tenafly Public School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.