What are Jersey City schools like?

Posted by Kathy Zucker in Parenting | 0 comments

I have been talking to parents about Jersey City schools, and my sense is that while there are many options (a quick search shows 10 charter schools and a total of 141 schools in JC) it is difficult to get into the good K-8 programs. Demand far exceeds supply, even more so than in Hoboken.

On the high school level, there are a number of excellent options. Two public schools (McNair High School and Liberty High School) received gold, silver or bronze medals from US News & World Report (rankings are here). There is also St. Peter’s Prep for boys, which has a superb college placement track record and Saint Dominic Academy for girls.

McNair, St. Peter’s Prep and Saint Dominic’s all require entrance exams and an admissions process. McNair is also required to admit a balanced ethnic student mix; a Google commenter states it is 25% black, 25% white, 25% hispanic, 25% others.

I found an excellent rundown of Hoboken/Jersey City high school options, including entrance exam and admissions criteria, here.

Kathy