Wayside Elementary School

Wayside Elementary School is a middle-of-the-pack elementary school in OCEAN, New Jersey, operated by Township of Ocean School District. The school instructs 583 students in grades pre-K through 4. Compared to the state average of about 405 students per school, that is 44% bigger than typical.

Township of Ocean School District comprises 5 schools with combined enrollment of 3,163 students; Wayside Elementary School is among them.

On the student-mix side, Wayside Elementary School records that the largest single group is White, at 58% of enrollment. The remainder consists of 21% Hispanic, 12% Black, 6% Asian, 2% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 74% White, putting the school's mix considerably less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, Wayside Elementary School lists 61 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 9.5:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 11.4:1, putting Wayside Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. Around 34% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Wayside 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 47.3%; Wayside Elementary School posts 65.1%, +17.8 points above that line.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Monmouth County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $124,845 per year, roughly 51% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 4%. In all, Monmouth County runs 186 public schools (combined enrollment of about 91,053 students), of which Wayside Elementary School is one.

Nearest neighbor: Township of Ocean Intermediate School, around 0.7 miles off. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Wayside Elementary School at 2nd of 7; the average score across the group is 43.6%.

The school occupies a bedroom-community site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count declined 5%: 613 students in 2018 compared to 583 in 2025. Asian enrollment moved from 11% to 6% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 10.5:1 in 2018 to 9.5:1 today.

Inside the community feed, the feed for Wayside Elementary School typically covers classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.