Elizabeth Public Schools is a public school district in Elizabeth, in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. BurkeWhat We Do: History, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022. "In 1998, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in the Abbott v. Burke case that the State must provide 100 percent funding for all school renovation and construction projects in special-needs school districts. According to the Court, aging, unsafe and overcrowded buildings prevented children from receiving the "thorough and efficient" education required under the New Jersey Constitution.... Full funding for approved projects was authorized for the 31 special-needs districts, known as 'Abbott Districts'." which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.What We Do, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022.SDA Districts, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022. The district was the third largest in New Jersey in 2022,Largest School Districts in New Jersey, Niche. Accessed February 25, 2022. with a culturally diverse student body coming from 50 countries and speaking more than 37 languages., Elizabeth Public Schools. Accessed September 28, 2014.
As of the 2018–19 school year, the district, comprising 36 schools, had an enrollment of 28,712 students and 2,173.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.2:1.District information for Elizabeth Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "A", the lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed September 28, 2014.
Awards, recognition and rankings In 2015, Elizabeth High School was one of 15 schools in New Jersey, and one of nine public schools, recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in the exemplary high performing category by the United States Department of Education.2015 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Accessed November 14, 2016.Mueller, Mark. "Which N.J. schools were named National Blue Ribbon schools?", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 29, 2015. Accessed November 14, 2016. "Fifteen New Jersey schools have been recognized by the federal government as National Blue Ribbon Schools, a designation that celebrates excellence in academics or progress in closing the achievement gap among groups of students.... Each of the 15 New Jersey schools was chosen for the 'exemplary high performing' category, which weighs state or national tests, high school graduation rates and the performance of subgroups of students, such as those who are economically disadvantaged."
In the 2008-09 school year, Victor Mravlag Elementary School No. 21 was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program: 2008 Schools, United States Department of Education. Accessed April 13, 2011. the highest award an American school can receive."CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve.""Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test", The Washington Post. September 29, 2005. "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school." For the 2006-07 school year, William F. Halloran Alternative School #22 was one of four schools in New Jersey recognized with the Blue Ribbon Award.No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools in 2006, United States Department of Education. Accessed April 13, 2011. William F. Halloran Alternative School #22 earned a second award when it was one of 11 in the state to be recognized in 2014 by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program.Goldman, Jeff. "Which N.J. schools were named to national 'Blue Ribbon' list?", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 2, 2014. Accessed December 31, 2014. "Eleven New Jersey schools have been named to the annual National Blue Ribbon list, the U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday."2014 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Private, United States Department of Education. Accessed December 31, 2014.Lannan, Aktie. "Elizabeth gifted and talented school earns National Blue Ribbon School designation", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 1, 2014. Accessed December 31, 2014. "Federal education officials designated the William F. Halloran Gifted and Talented School No. 22 as a National Blue Ribbon School, one of 337 selected nationwide based on academic excellence and progress in closing the achievement gap. This is the second time School 22 has received the honor in the past 10 years, according to the school department. It was first named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2006." Terence C. Reilly was also recognized as a National Blue Ribbon school in 2013 and was recognized as a NJ School of Character and National School of Character. Terence C. Reilly is also an Apple Distinguished School and Top 25 in New Jersey. Terence C. Reilly School No. 7 was honored by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program in 2019, one of nine schools in the state recognized as Exemplary High Performing Schools.2019 National Blue Ribbon Schools Exemplary High Performing Schools, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Accessed September 26, 2019.
In 2007, Dr. Albert Einstein Academy School No. 29 became one of 24 schools selected from across the United States and the only NASA Explore School in the state of New Jersey at that time.Smith, Heather R. Starry-eyed , NASA. June 22, 2010. Accessed April 13, 2011.
In the 2012 "High School Challenge" published by The Washington Post, a continuation of high-school rankings formerly published in Newsweek, ranked Elizabeth High School as the best public high school in New Jersey, and the 76th-best in the United States.Staff. "America's Most Challenging High Schools 2012: New Jersey", The Washington Post. Accessed September 28, 2014.
History Battin High School was constructed in 1913 at 300 South Broad Street on the site of a mansion that had been donated to the city nearly 25 years earlier by Joseph Battin, president of the Elizabethtown Water Company, and namesake of the school.Elizabeth Through The Ages, Visit Historical Elizabeth, NJ. Accessed March 16, 2015. Originally operated on a coeducational basis, the school became female only starting in 1929, after Thomas Jefferson High School was constructed and dedicated to serve male students.Hatala, Greg. "Glimpse of History: When Battin was co-ed", The Star-Ledger, June 11, 2012. Accessed March 16, 2015. "According to research by Kristin Kulick, director of special projects for the Elizabeth Board of Education, the academic year 1976-77 was the last year male and female students attended classes separately." In 1977, district officials stated that the inability to determine attendance zones for the two comprehensive high schools after Thomas Jefferson High School opened in 1929 combined with the expansive shop facilities in the new building, led the district to decide to split students by sex, with girls at Battin and boys at Thomas Jefferson. By 1972, Battin was the only public high school in New Jersey operated exclusively for women, despite coeducational programs at both Princeton University and Vassar College. By that time, a policy under which pregnant students had been required to withdraw from school had been eliminated and students were allowed to return to school after giving birth and attending a special off-site program during their pregnancy. Though 40% of graduating students went on to college and district officials insisted that the curriculum was standard across the district's separate high schools, a student criticized the difference in expectations of male and female students, noting that "Boys are expected to be engineers and attorneys. Girls are supposed to be secretaries and mothers."Bloom, Kathryn Ruth. "Battin High in Elizabeth, the only All-Girl Public School", The New York Times, September 24, 1972. Accessed March 16, 2015. "Elizabeth - With women having invaded Princeton and Vassar a coed college, the days of the single-sex school might seem to be over. They're not, though, for the girls at Battin High, one of three public high schools in this industrial city; the girls are students at New Jersey's only public all-girl high school."
Battin High School and Thomas Jefferson High School were both closed at the end of the 1976-77 school year, after the Elizabeth High School complex was completed and all of the district's students, male and female, were accommodated at the new four-building facility, ending the city's status as "the only community in the state with separate public high schools for boys and girls". The $29.3 million project included renovations to Thomas Jefferson High School, which was integrated into the new complex. The Battin High School building, together with the four existing junior high schools, was repurposed as a middle school for grades six through eight.Horowitz, Ben. "Elizabeth Awaits Coed High School", The New York Times, July 10, 1977. Accessed March 16, 2015. "Elizabeth's 48-year role as the only community in the state with separate public high schools for boys and girls will end in September with the opening of a new fourbuilding complex at the corner of South Pearl and South Streets."
Schools Schools in the district (with 2018–19 enrollment data from the National Center for Education StatisticsSchool Data for the Elizabeth Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed April 1, 2020.) are:District & School Buildings Directory, Elizabeth Public Schools. Accessed August 11, 2020.School Performance Reports for the Elizabeth School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.New Jersey School Directory for the Elizabeth School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
Early childhood centers Frances C. Smith Center for Early Childhood Education No. 50Frances C. Smith Center for Early Childhood Education No. 50, Elizabeth Public Schools. Accessed September 28, 2014. (304 students; in grade PreK) Donald Stewart Center for Early Childhood Education No. 51Donald Stewart Center for Early Childhood Education No. 51, Elizabeth Public Schools. Accessed September 28, 2014. (300; PreK) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Early Childhood Education No. 52Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Early Childhood Education No. 52, Elizabeth Public Schools. Accessed September 28, 2014. (307; PreK)
Elementary and Middle schools
George Washington Academy School No. 1George Washington Academy School No. 1, Elizabeth Public Schools. Accessed August 11, 2020. (579; PreK-8) Winfield Scott School No. 2Winfield Scott School No. 2, Elizabeth Public Schools. Accessed August 11, 2020. (655; PreK-8)