Ridgeway Elementary School

Ridgeway Elementary School is a primary school of medium-sized scale in MANCHESTER, New Jersey, run under Manchester Township School District, instructing 476 students in grades pre-K through 5.

Manchester Township School District comprises 6 schools with combined enrollment of 2,904 students; Ridgeway Elementary School is among them.

On demographics, Ridgeway Elementary School reports that 45% of students identify as Hispanic, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. Beyond that, the school lists 37% White, 11% Black, 5% multiracial, 3% Asian. By comparison, Ocean County as a whole is about 11% Hispanic, so the school skews meaningfully more Hispanic than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, Ridgeway Elementary School has 47 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 10.1:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 11.4:1 average. Roughly 57% of students at Ridgeway Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. That share is noticeably above Ocean County's rate of about 44%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Ridgeway Elementary School sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 34.8%; this one delivers 33.1%.

Around the school, census data for Ocean County shows median household income runs about $89,863, roughly 34% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 7%. Across Ocean County's 117 public schools (combined enrollment of about 66,051 students), Ridgeway Elementary School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Manchester Township Middle School, roughly 0.1 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Ridgeway Elementary School ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 30.8%.

The campus sits in a commuter-belt setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count increased 10%: 431 students in 2018 compared to 476 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share edged down from 64% to 37%. Class-load math has loosened: from 8.9:1 in 2018 to 10.1:1 in 2025.

On allk12, recent activity here tends to focus on sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.