School 21

Located at 322 10TH AVENUE, in PATERSON, New Jersey, School 21 is a big elementary-level community that hosts 665 students (grades pre-K through 8), one of the schools within Paterson Public School District. By comparison, New Jersey's public schools average about 405 students each, so School 21 sits 64% above that benchmark.

School 21 is one of 43 schools operated by Paterson Public School District, a district that hosts 21,372 students overall.

In terms of who attends, School 21 shows that Hispanic students make up the majority at 78%. Other groups include 21% Black. The wider county runs roughly 44% Hispanic, putting the school's mix meaningfully more Hispanic than the area baseline.

Looking at school resources, On paper, School 21 has 43 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.5:1. The state averages around 11.4:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. About 65% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, On a poverty-adjusted basis, School 21 sits in the bottom 10% statewide. Predicted proficiency from the FRL regression is roughly 30.9%; actual is 5.6%, a gap of -25.2 points.

Zooming out to the county, community-level numbers for Passaic County indicate median household income runs about $87,522, about 31% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, 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 21 is one.

Nearest neighbor: Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts, around 0.3 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), School 21 ranks 7th on composite proficiency, beneath the local average of 19.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a suburban area.

Over the past 7-year window. School 21's enrollment has fell 12% since 2018, when it stood at 756 (now 665). Over the same period, the Black share declined from 26% to 21%. Class-load math has rose: from 14.3:1 in 2018 to 15.5:1 in 2025.

On the community side, members of the School 21 community share and discuss pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.