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Hi, my family is looking to relocate to NJ, choosing between Cranford and Westfield. it looks like we can get more house for our budget (650 - 700k) in Cranford on the South side of the town then on the North, however the schools' (middle) ranking are significantly lower on the South compared to the North Side of the town and much lower than Westfield. I am not familiar with NJ education but want my children to be challenged in school. Would you advise to go with the school and focus on Westfield and north part of Cranford? Would like to hear from parents whose children go to middle school on the South side of Cranford. thanks
Both middle schools in Cranford are very good. What ratings are you looking at? Regarding Cranford vs. Westfield, the differences are marginal. Depending on the year and the ranking source, the high schools flip back and forth between the two.
I agree, don’t worry so much about rankings. However, do think about what kind of “challenging curriculum” you want so that you know what to expect. Cranford does not have the intel finalist and math league focus found in some other districts but it does offer plenty of AP classes that will be fine for a good student. I’m not sure if middle schoolers are allowed to take more advanced math and science in the high school- some towns offer the option to students who excel. You don’t want to be fighting for this if it’s not in place.
The only reason I would worry about school rankings is because it drives real estate prices.
People in Cranford would say they are basically the same, people in Westfield would say Westfield is much better. And if you want your kids challenged in school, send them to Asia
It's so funny to me how hung up people get on schools when comparing similar towns, especially anything under high school. Don't worry about it. All 3 are good options. The Cranford "middle school" with the lower ranking isn't worse than the other. It is the only K-8 in town and has a majority of special education kids from K-8 in town. I grew up in this area, Cranford actually, and I would buy in any of the towns, the schools are not known to be dissimilar in any way that could hinder a kid's future or anything like that. The reputations for all 3 towns and schools is fine. It is not like comparing any of the 3 to Linden or Plainfield or Elizabeth or Roselle or even Roselle Park. It's a really nice and good area. Don't get too hung up on rankings, you'll go crazy, especially because they can differ so much by methodology or year.
In NJ, nice town = good schools, generally. You'll know what is and isn't a nice town when you see it. Yeah, some really nice towns like Millburn have even better schools, like among the very best, but even then, it's not like Cranford schools are some huge noticeable downgrade when compared. NJ in general has very good public schools.
Not to get hung up on these rankings, but cranford HS is ahead of Westfield HS in both the Nj monthly and US news rankings.
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