Orchard Elementary School

Orchard Elementary School operates as an average-sized elementary campus in RIDGEWOOD, New Jersey, part of Ridgewood Public School District. Current enrollment sits at 348 students spanning grades K through 5.

Across the 10 schools in Ridgewood Public School District (5,419 students total), Orchard Elementary School accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

Looking at the student body, Orchard Elementary School lists that 58% of the student body identifies as White; the rest consists of 17% Asian, 15% Hispanic, 8% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Orchard Elementary School has 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 12.2:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 11.4:1 average. Roughly 5% of students at Orchard Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is noticeably below Bergen County's rate of about 28%.

Adjusting for the school's free-and-reduced-lunch share, Orchard Elementary School ranks in the top 10% of New Jersey public schools. The BeatsExpectations model, a per-state regression of composite proficiency on FRL share, predicts schools with this student profile to land around 63.3%; Orchard Elementary School posts 82.4%, +19.1 points above that line.

Across the wider county, Bergen County reports that median household income runs about $124,884, roughly 53% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Bergen County runs 291 public schools (combined enrollment of about 133,883 students), of which Orchard Elementary School is one.

The closest other public school is George Washington Middle School, roughly 0.5 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Orchard Elementary School at 1st of 8; the average score across the group is 70.6%.

The campus sits in a residential setting.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked up 13%: 308 students in 2018 compared to 348 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 13.8:1 in 2018 to 12.2:1 today.

On this page, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.