Orange Avenue School

Orange Avenue School is one of the mid-sized middle schools in CRANFORD, New Jersey, part of Cranford Public School District, with 750 students on its rolls from grades 3 through 8. By comparison, New Jersey's public schools average about 578 students each, so Orange Avenue School sits 30% larger than that benchmark.

Within Cranford Public School District, which oversees 7 schools and 3,773 students, Orange Avenue School is one campus in the system.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Orange Avenue School lists that the largest single group is White, at 78% of enrollment. Other groups include 11% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, 4% Asian, 3% Black. The wider county runs roughly 39% White, putting the school's mix considerably more White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 64 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 11.7:1 students per teacher. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 10.9:1, putting Orange Avenue School higher than the state norm the norm. About 1% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. By comparison, Union County runs at roughly 52%, so the school's eligibility rate is lower than the surrounding baseline.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Orange Avenue School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 65.7% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 70.0%.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Union County indicate the typical household earns roughly $103,202 per year, about 39% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 7%. Across Union County's 180 public schools (combined enrollment of about 99,046 students), Orange Avenue School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Warren G. Harding Elementary School, roughly 0.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Orange Avenue School at 1st of 7; the average score across the group is 43.4%.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count stayed largely flat: 766 students in 2018 compared to 750 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share contracted from 86% to 78%.

Within the allk12 community for this school, recent activity here tends to focus on science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.