Martin Center for the Arts

Martin Center for the Arts is one of the medium-sized elementary schools in JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, operated by Jersey City Public Schools, with 359 students on its rolls from grades pre-K through 8.

Within Jersey City Public Schools, which oversees 39 schools and 24,151 students, Martin Center for the Arts is one campus in the system.

On demographics, Martin Center for the Arts lists that Black students make up the majority at 60%; the rest is composed of 32% Hispanic, 4% White. By comparison, Hudson County as a whole is about 12% Black, so the school skews visibly more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Martin Center for the Arts lists 34 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 10.6:1. The state averages around 11.4:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 84% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Hudson County (around 68%), the school's rate is north of typical.

With demographic context factored in, Martin Center for the Arts sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 20.0%; this one delivers 10.1%.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Hudson County put median household income runs about $91,795, about 49% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Martin Center for the Arts is one of 130 public schools in Hudson County (combined enrollment of about 86,216 students).

Nearest neighbor: Whitney M. Young Jr. School, around 0.3 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Martin Center for the Arts at 7th of 9; the average score across the group is 23.4%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site.

Trend over the last 7 years. Martin Center for the Arts's enrollment has contracted 16% since 2018, when it stood at 428 (now 359). Class-load math has tightened: from 12.2:1 in 2018 to 10.6:1 in 2025.

On this page, members of the Martin Center for the Arts community share and discuss enrollment questions, classroom assignments, and PTA news. Members of the school community can share what they know.