NJDOE Data Finds Joseph F. Brandt School the Most Segregated School in Hoboken for 2018-19; Latest NJDOE Ratings of All Hoboken Public Schools

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The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) recently released official enrollment data for the 2018-19 school year for all public schools in New Jersey. According tot the NJDOE there are 2,517 public schools operating in 585 school districts. There are also 88 charter schools in the state. There are 2000 elementary schools and 517 secondary schools in New Jersey. State Aid for public education in New Jersey is 8.03 billion dollars. Public School enrollment in New Jersey is 1,370,000 students and charter school enrollment is 51,993. There are 116,351 classroom teachers earning a median salary of $67,602. The median salaries for Administrators and Supervisors is $159,845; District Superintendents is $121,112 and Principals is $125,054.

While statewide data in interesting, data specific to Hoboken is of particular interest to many of my readers. This post will focus specifically on two pieces of data--1) percentage of white students in each Hoboken City Public School and the percentage of students qualifying for Free or Reduced Lunch.

First, we will look at the percentage of students identified by the district as "white." A quick look at the data shows Joseph F. Brandt School as having the highest percentage of students identified as white by the district and  Hoboken High School having the lowest percentage of enrolled students the district identifies as white. 

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Second, we will look at the percentage of students identified by the district as receiving "free or reduced lunch." This is often a measure of poverty in educational policy and research. Those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals. For the 2016–2017 school year (most recent data), a household of three earning $26,208 or less would qualify for free school meals and a family of three earning up to $37,296 would qualify for reduced-price school meals.
A quick look at the data shows Brandt having the lowest percentage of students identified as being of poverty in the district and Connors School having the highest percentage of enrolled students the district identifies as coming from poverty.

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It is important to realize that Brandt School is a school that the district has slowly been transforming over the past few years. Beginning first as a school with some pre-school providers housed inside (PreK), the Hoboken Board of Education and district administrators have slowly and quietly been adding additional grades to the school with each passing year. For the 2018-19 school year, Brandt School was a PK-3 school, Grades 1, 2 and 3 being added over the previous years. 

Joseph Brandt School- Hoboken, NJ

The NJDOE data clearly shows that for the 2018-19 school year Brandt School was by far the most segregated school in the City of Hoboken. The school has the highest percentage of Hoboken City district identified white students and the lowest percentage of Hoboken City district students identified as living in poverty. A significant percentage of the student population at Brant has been added over the past number of years with the addition of early elementary grades 1, 2, and 3. Brandt was transformed from an all preschool building to an  early elementary school. Therefore these demographic data must be by design and not simply by happenstance. 

Interesting, given the Hoboken Board of Education initiated litigation a few years ago against the Hola Dual Language School claiming the charter school was causing "white flight" in the district.
Finally, the NJDOE data shows clearly that less than 50% of the Hoboken City School district qualifies for free or reduced lunch dispelling the excuse that low test scores in the district are because a majority of students are living in poverty. Here are NJDOE scores (0-100) that were reported in March of 2019. The NJDOE ratings were established to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The ratings for high schools are based on graduation and absenteeism rates and PARCC scores, while elementary and middle school scores are based on absenteeism, PARCC and student progress on PARCC tests, according to the New Jersey Department of Education:

• SALVATORE R. CALABRO, HOBOKEN CITY, HUDSON 87.15
• HOBOKEN DUAL LANGUAGE CHARTER SCHOOL, HOLA HOBOKEN DUAL LANG CS, CHARTERS 70.63
• HOBOKEN CHARTER SCHOOL, HOBOKEN CS, CHARTERS 64.25
• ELYSIAN CHARTER SCHOOL OF HOBOKEN, ELYSIAN CS OF HOBOKEN, CHARTERS 61.86
• THOMAS G. CONNORS, HOBOKEN CITY, HUDSON 41.85
• HOBOKEN HIGH SCHOOL, HOBOKEN CITY, HUDSON 38.78
• WALLACE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, HOBOKEN CITY, HUDSON 35.79
• HOBOKEN MIDDLE SCHOOL, HOBOKEN CITY, HUDSON 15.89

Why has the Hoboken Board of Education created the most segregated school in the city?


Why are NJDOE ratings so low given the current demographics of the Hoboken Public Schools? 

Why isn't anyone tweeting about these issues? Or posting on social media?