Clifton or Kearny? (Bloomfield, Nutley, North Arlington: elementary schools, live in, ratings)

[sra0427]

Hi, I am new here. I am looking for a house. We can't afford private school. We live in Kearny now and have for awhile. 3 kids 1-going into 7th, 1 going into K and the other 1 is a baby. Clifton would be closer to work but Kearny is where we are now and have family and freinds.

[Smartone]

Originally Posted by sra0427

Hi, I am new here. I am looking for a house. We can't afford private school. We live in Kearny now and have for awhile. 3 kids 1-going into 7th, 1 going into K and the other 1 is a baby. Clifton would be closer to work but Kearny is where we are now and have family and freinds.

Clifton schools are awful. I believe Lincoln Park would be best for you, but that is a good half hour from Kearny. Try Bloomfield or Nutley, they are closer.

[sra0427]

Nutley would be another possiblity but is Bloomfield's schools any better than Clifton or Kearny?

Anyone know any websites where I can research the schools?

[GJM]

Clifton schools are not awful -

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by sra0427

Anyone know any websites where I can research the schools?

Schooldigger.com -- Search and compare elementary, middle, and high schools.
GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community

neither kearny nor clifton have great public schools. bloomfield has solid elementary schools in certain sections, like brookdale, but the high school has a mixed reputation at best (some would say it's on the decline, while others claim that highly motivated students are fine as long as they take all of the honors/AP classes).

try looking into nutley or rutherford.

[sra0427]

Thanks for the websites. I will look into them.

[johnfrisco]

Between the 2 you are better off staying in Kearny. Try to stay by the North Arlington part as opposed to the Harrison part.

It's a very diverse town.

[Smartone]

Originally Posted by GJM

Clifton schools are not awful -

They are drug-ridden and fights break out, they are awful.

[ReluctantGardenStater]

Clifton's school system isn't the best, but there are far worse in the area. The general "decline of Clifton" is exaggerated.

I believe it is superior to Kearny, yes. Combined with the shorter commute it seems like a no-brainer and trading up.

[GJM]

I have family that goes to the HS - they have no problems at all. You have to remember that Clifton is a very large city.

When I graduated from Clifton HS we had about 700 kids, that was the smallest graduating class. I am not sure what the graduating class will be this year, but I can find out. I believe there may be over 3000 kids in the school.

Also in Clifton there are some very nice parts of the town and some not so great -