As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of seven schools, had an enrollment of 3,745 students and 334.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1.[1]
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-highest 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.[4]
The system's high school was the 49th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology, after having been ranked 51st in the state out of 328 schools in 2012.[16] Cranford High School has a curriculum which has a strong push for technology in the schools, along with stressing service learning. The high school is recognized for its work in service learning and for being a national school of character. Cranford High School students are regularly admitted to some of the nation's top public and private universities, with over 90% of each graduating class going onto college.
Cranford has two public middle schools, Orange Avenue School and Hillside Avenue School, which are located on each end of the township and serve their local neighborhood. Both also are elementary schools as well. On the north side of Cranford, along with Orange Avenue, are two other elementary schools, Bloomingdale Avenue School and Brookside Place School. On the south side of the township, along with Hillside Avenue, are two other elementary schools, Walnut Avenue School and Livingston Avenue School.
Lincoln School, which is the home of the district's administrative offices, also houses the district's two alternative education programs, CAP and CAMP.[17]
Dennis McCaffery, principal
Awards and recognition
The district was selected as one of the top "100 Best Communities for Music Education in America 2005" by the American Music Conference.[18]
Administration
Core members of the district's administration are:[19]
Robert J. Carfagno, business administrator and board secretary[21]
Board of education
The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[22][23][24]
Robert Ferro (1941–1988), Cranford High School alumnus and author whose work included a gay coming-of-age novel describing a fictionalized version of Cranford centered around the Rahway River.[27]
^Cranford Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Cranford Township Public Schools. Accessed June 5, 2024. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through twelve in the Cranford School District. Composition: The Cranford School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Cranford."
^Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Cranford School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed April 10, 2024. "The Township of Cranford School District is a Type II district located in the County of Union, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The board is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. The purpose of the district is to educate students in grades K-12."
^William Beinecke - 96, Old New York Stories, October 28, 2011. Accessed November 4, 2016. "So we lived in Cranford, New Jersey, in a house, the address was 401 Prospect Street, Cranford, New Jersey and I even remember the phone number. The phone was 47."Old New York Stories, Oct 28, 2011, Interview with William Sperry Beinecke (recalling that he was a student of the Cranford Township Public Schools as a boy, at the corner of Springfield Avenue and Holly Street)
^"Spotlight: Carol Blazejowski", SI for Women, May 28, 1999. Accessed May 4, 2007. "In 1974, while a student at Cranford High (NJ), Blazejowski told the school's athletic director (who was also the coach of the boys' basketball team) that she would play on boys' basketball team if no girls team was created. It wasn't long before Cranford had a girls' basketball team."
