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Hi all! My husband and I are looking for our first home. We don't have kids yet (thought planning to soon) and our top priority is commute to the city. Our agent recommended Wood-ridge and we like what we see so far, but the elementary school ratings are a definite turn off. I heard that Hasbrouck Heights is exactly the same as Wood-ridge (same feel, same commute), but has better schools and higher taxes. Any resident Wood-ridge or HH folks who can comment? Any think that the Westmont communities will turn the Wood-ridge education dept around?
I don't think any elementary schools should be ranked, seems a little nutso. And if you don't even have kids yet you really can't pick a place based on that, you're at least seven years from kindergarten, a lot can change in that time.
I don't think any elementary schools should be ranked, seems a little nutso. And if you don't even have kids yet you really can't pick a place based on that, you're at least seven years from kindergarten, a lot can change in that time.
Ha! I'm new to this type of research...but apparently elementary schools are ranked in Language arts & math/sciences...I guess the scores are what the ranking are based on.
We drove the both WR and HH and they seemed exactly the same...however I read on some forums that HH is the "better" town...wondering what exactly that means
Another part of the story is the School Performance Report. The NJDOE hasn't released the 2016-2017 school performance reports yet, but you can see the 2015-2016 results here. If you search for the school districts and then open the performance report for each school, you can find very detailed information like how many kids are in each grade, what the ethnic breakdown is, the percentages of kids with any type of disability, the % of English language learners, the % of low socio economic students, the home languages of students, etc.
Without that look at the school performance results, comparing PARCC scores can be like comparing apples to oranges. For example, *some* charter schools don't have the facilities to help disabled students, so they just don't accept them. They may have a disabled % of close to 0, whereas the local school district accepts all students. Even students with disabilities have to take the PARCC, so naturally the local school district will have lower test scores. You kind of have to look at the whole picture to understand test results rather than focusing on just the test scores themselves.
Thanks @Annikan! So the elementary school in Wood-ridge only goes up to grade 3, while the one in Hasbrouck Heights is k-5. Does that mean I'm coming one grade to 3 grades in Hasbrouck Heights? Def not significant then!
Thanks @Annikan! So the elementary school in Wood-ridge only goes up to grade 3, while the one in Hasbrouck Heights is k-5. Does that mean I'm coming one grade to 3 grades in Hasbrouck Heights? Def not significant then!
Wood-Ridge is a K-12 system. There is a 4th/5th/6th grade intermediate school and a 7-12 Jr/Sr High School.
In the area, HH is generally perceived as the "better" town between the two, in terms of affluence and quality of schools. But the towns are friendly toward one another. Lodi, on the other hand, is shunned by both WR and HH, despite being geographically close.
In the area, HH is generally perceived as the "better" town between the two, in terms of affluence and quality of schools. But the towns are friendly toward one another. Lodi, on the other hand, is shunned by both WR and HH, despite being geographically close.
Strange...Wood-ridge scored significantly higher than HH in math, which is usually the greatest challenge for schools (quoted by my teacher friend)... sounds like a long-standing rivalry between the two, but glad to hear that they generally get along. We are open to both towns but inventory in general is lower than ever and we happened to find a place we love in Wood-ridge, so likely going with it!
@aiy So did you guys move to wood-ridge? Me and wife are planning to move to wood-ridge and yet we don't have kids (May be two years from now we will plan)and as of now our top priority is commute to the city (Same as yours). We liked the houses built by Pulte/Wright.
If you moved how's your experience so far? Did you find more about schooling?
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