Jotham W. Wakeman School

As a well-populated elementary school in JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, Jotham W. Wakeman School works with 617 students from grades pre-K through 5, run under Jersey City Public Schools. By comparison, New Jersey's public schools average about 405 students each, so Jotham W. Wakeman School sits 52% above that benchmark.

Jersey City Public Schools comprises 39 schools with combined enrollment of 24,151 students; Jotham W. Wakeman School is among them.

On the student-mix side, Jotham W. Wakeman School logs that the most-represented group is Asian (46%), with the rest of the student body spread across multiple groups. Beyond that, the school lists 31% Hispanic, 10% Black, 9% White, 3% multiracial. By comparison, Hudson County as a whole is about 17% Asian, so the school skews meaningfully more Asian than its surroundings.

On the income-and-resources front, Staff filings list 56 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.0:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. About 45% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Hudson County runs at roughly 68%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

With demographic context factored in, Jotham W. Wakeman School sits in the top 10% of New Jersey schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 41.4%; actual is 65.0%, +23.5 points clear of the demographic baseline.

In the surrounding community, Hudson County reports that the typical household earns roughly $91,795 per year, roughly 49% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Hudson County's 130 public schools (combined enrollment of about 86,216 students), Jotham W. Wakeman School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Patricia M. Noonan School PS #26, roughly 0.2 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Jotham W. Wakeman School. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Jotham W. Wakeman School at 1st of 9; the average score across the group is 32.2%.

The campus sits in a high-density setting.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 18%: 753 students in 2018 compared to 617 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share contracted from 43% to 31%. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 12.3:1 in 2018 to 11.0:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.