McKinley Avenue Elementary School

McKinley Avenue Elementary School is a K-5 school of heavily attended scale in Manahawkin, New Jersey, run under Stafford Township School District, educateing 630 students in grades 3 through 4. Compared to the state average of about 405 students per school, that is 56% bigger than typical.

McKinley Avenue Elementary School is one of 5 schools operated by Stafford Township School District, a district that caters to 2,542 students overall.

Looking at the student body, McKinley Avenue Elementary School logs that the largest single group is White, at 78% of enrollment. Other groups include 17% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% multiracial.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, McKinley Avenue Elementary School has 50 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 11.4:1, putting McKinley Avenue Elementary School higher than the state norm the norm. An estimated 30% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. By comparison, Ocean County runs at roughly 44%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, McKinley Avenue Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 49.9%; this one delivers 51.1%.

In the area at large, Ocean County reports that median household income runs about $89,863, roughly 34% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. McKinley Avenue Elementary School is one of 117 public schools in Ocean County (combined enrollment of about 66,051 students).

The closest other public school is Stafford Intermediate School, roughly 0.0 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 6 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), McKinley Avenue Elementary School ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, below the local average of 52.5%.

The school occupies a commuter-belt site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked up 10%: 575 students in 2018 compared to 630 in 2025. The White share of enrollment shrank from 87% to 78% over that span.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.