John L. Costley Middle School

John L. Costley Middle School is a cozy intermediate school in EAST ORANGE, New Jersey, run under East Orange School District. The school enrolls 334 students in grades 6 through 8. Compared to the state average of about 578 students per school, that is 42% below typical.

John L. Costley Middle School is one of 19 schools operated by East Orange School District, a district that teaches 8,348 students overall.

For racial and ethnic makeup, John L. Costley Middle School records that 70% of the student body identifies as Black. The remainder comes out to 23% Hispanic, 4% White. The wider county runs roughly 36% Black, putting the school's mix noticeably more Black than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, The school reports having 25 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 13.4:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 10.9:1, putting John L. Costley Middle School higher than the state norm the norm. An estimated 10% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. Set against Essex County (around 54%), the school's rate is south of typical.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, On a poverty-adjusted basis, John L. Costley Middle School sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 60.8%; actual is 7.6%, a gap of -53.2 points.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Essex County) reports that median household earnings sit near $80,789, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. John L. Costley Middle School is one of 249 public schools in Essex County (combined enrollment of about 145,473 students).

The closest other public school is Sojourner Truth Middle School, roughly 0.0 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around John L. Costley Middle School. Among the 5 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), John L. Costley Middle School ranks 5th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 16.2%.

John L. Costley Middle School operates from a residential location.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at John L. Costley Middle School has decreased 18%, going from 408 students in 2018 to 334 in 2025. Black enrollment moved from 89% to 70% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 11.7:1 in 2018 to 13.4:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, recent activity here tends to focus on fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.