Joseph Battin School No 4

As a roomy primary school in ELIZABETH, New Jersey, Joseph Battin School No 4 enrolls 757 students from grades pre-K through 8, part of Elizabeth Public Schools. Enrollment runs roughly 87% bigger than the state mean of about 405.

Elizabeth Public Schools comprises 37 schools with combined enrollment of 27,580 students; Joseph Battin School No 4 is among them.

Demographically, Joseph Battin School No 4 shows that 80% of students identify as Hispanic, making the school strongly Hispanic-majority. Beyond that, the school reports 11% Black, 6% White. By comparison, Union County as a whole is about 35% Hispanic, so the school skews noticeably more Hispanic than its surroundings.

On the resource side, Staff filings list 68 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.2:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. An estimated 85% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Union County (around 52%), the school's rate is meaningfully above typical.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, Joseph Battin School No 4 tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 19.5% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 28.5%.

In the area at large, community-level numbers for Union County indicate median household earnings sit near $103,202, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Joseph Battin School No 4 is one of 180 public schools in Union County (combined enrollment of about 99,046 students).

The closest other public school is Donald Stewart Early Childhood Center No 51, roughly 0.2 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Joseph Battin School No 4 ranks 6th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 30.5%.

Geographically, the school is in a commuter-belt area.

Trend over the last 7 years. Joseph Battin School No 4's enrollment has ticked down 11% since 2018, when it stood at 853 (now 757). The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 14.1:1 in 2018 to 11.2:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.