School #1

Located at 158 PARK SLOPE, in CLIFTON, New Jersey, School #1 is an intimate elementary campus that educates 255 students (grades pre-K through 5), run under Clifton Public School District. That puts it 37% below the typical public school in New Jersey, which averages around 405 students.

Across the 19 schools in Clifton Public School District (10,516 students total), School #1 accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

For racial and ethnic makeup, School #1 reports that the largest single group is Hispanic at 48%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest looks like 41% White, 4% Black, 4% Asian. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the resource side, On paper, School #1 has 22 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 11.9:1. That tracks the state average closely. About 76% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. That share is higher than Passaic County's rate of about 61%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), School #1 performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 24.3%, the actual is 33.6%, a residual of +9.3 points.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Passaic County) records that median household income runs about $87,522, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Passaic County runs 155 public schools (combined enrollment of about 83,237 students), of which School #1 is one.

Christopher Columbus Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts School #1 at 4th of 9; the average score across the group is 29.9%.

The campus sits in a commuter-belt setting.

Five-year trend. School #1's enrollment has ticked down 10% since 2018, when it stood at 282 (now 255). The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 14.8:1 in 2018 to 11.9:1 today.

In the discussion threads here, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.