Elementary school (grades K-5) · Cranford, NJ

Brookside Place School

Federal NCES profile for Brookside Place School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 340357005466
0/100100/10050/100
👥 S:T ratio
46
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
86
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Brookside Place School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 81% of New Jersey schools.

#4 of 5
elementary schools in Cranford · Resource Index
50
Resource Index · Higher
13.5:1
large classes for New Jersey
0.8%
free-lunch eligible

Brookside Place School has class sizes larger than 81% of New Jersey schools. Computed live against every New Jersey school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Brookside Place School ranks #4 of 5 elementary schools in Cranford, NJ.

Enrollment

364

New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

27.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.5:1

vs 11.8:1 New Jersey avg

+14% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

0.8%

vs 29.6% New Jersey avg

-97% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Brookside Place School compares with New Jersey and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Brookside Place School

Brookside Place School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Cranford, New Jersey, enrolling 364 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 13.5:1 puts it in the larger third of New Jersey schools by student-teacher ratio.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 0.8% free-meal eligibility runs 97% below the New Jersey average.

With 364 students, its enrollment sits close to the New Jersey median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,501 scored New Jersey schools.

Among 541 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need New Jersey schools statewide, it ranks #406, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by White (76%) and Hispanic or Latino (15%) (diversity index 40/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 728 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance holds up well here: only 5.8% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

Cranford Public School District also operates Cranford High School (1,116 students) and Orange Avenue School (750 students) alongside Brookside Place School.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Brookside Place School compares

Brookside Place School on the metrics families compare, against New Jersey and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs New Jersey New Jersey avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 13.5:1 ▲ 14% 11.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 0.8% ▼ 97% 29.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 364 top 61% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

13.5:1
Leaner classes than 62% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
364
Bigger than 42% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
0.8%
free-lunch eligible - 97% below the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.5:1
students per teacher - 14% above state mean
Top 81% in New Jersey - lower ratio than 19% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
5.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$21,994
per pupil, district-wide - below New Jersey avg of $24,984
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

White 75.5%
Hispanic or Latino 14.6%
Two or More 6.6%
Asian 2.7%
African American 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: White at 75.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 40.4/100

Simpson diversity index - at 40.4, Brookside Place School is less mixed than the New Jersey school average of 51.2.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cranford Public School District, which includes Brookside Place School.

$21,994
Per student
-12%
vs New Jersey
Avg $24,984
+33%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 74.3%
State 23.4%
Federal 2.3%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Brookside Place School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Cranford High School Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Orange Avenue School Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Hillside Avenue School Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Walnut Avenue School Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Livingston Avenue School Smaller Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Brookside Place School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Cranford Public School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New Jersey, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Brookside Place School's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Brookside Place School

How many students attend Brookside Place School?

Brookside Place School has 364 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Cranford, NJ.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Brookside Place School?

The student-teacher ratio at Brookside Place School is 13.5:1, which is 14% higher than the New Jersey average of 11.8:1 and 14% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Brookside Place School?

0.8% of students at Brookside Place School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Brookside Place School?

The largest demographic group at Brookside Place School is White at 75.5% of enrollment, in Cranford, NJ.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Brookside Place School?

Brookside Place School has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Brookside Place School rank among elementary schools in Cranford?

By Resource Investment Index, Brookside Place School ranks #4 of 5 elementary schools in Cranford, NJ. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Cranford on the city page.

Is Brookside Place School a good school?

Brookside Place School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 81% of New Jersey schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Cranford Public School District?

Besides Brookside Place School, Cranford Public School District also operates Cranford High School (1,116 students), Orange Avenue School (750 students), and Hillside Avenue School (743 students). See the Cranford Public School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.