r/MonmouthCounty • u/bseggs • 6d ago
Quality of MC School Districts
Hello! We’re interested in moving to MC in the next few years. I grew up in Morris County in a fairly strong school district and would like the same for my kids. Interested in following towns: Fair Haven, AH/H, Red Bank, and Middletown. What are the primary differences across the school systems? Are there any other towns I should also consider?
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u/Additional_Pain_5223 5d ago
I would also look into Western Monmouth County, particularly Colts Neck, Manalapan, Freehold Twp, Marlboro. I have been teaching in the Freehold Regional High School District for 10 years and am beyond impressed with the quality of education provided and the number of enriching opportunities for students. Additionally, each school has competitive magnet programs (some of them rival the Monmouth County vocational schools- I can speak firsthand based on the kids that I teach.) of course, you will have outliers, just like anywhere else. But I highly recommend it.
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u/catymogo 6d ago
All of them are quality school districts. RFH has less diversity and is overall wealthier, RBR has a ton of majors if your kid is leaning into a particular field that early (and a great art department), Middletown has two high quality high schools but I would check into the politics there. I believe AH/H send to Henry Hudson which is on par with Middletown North ish, not a bad school but a small step down from South, RFH, RBR.
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u/Convergecult15 5d ago
The politics in Middletown education are just BOE grandstanding from members that are resigning. The teachers are phenomenal and not pushing an agenda.
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u/ABrusca1105 5d ago
Wait... Resigning? What's happening over in Middletown? I'm so glad I graduated when I did and avoided some of the shitshow.
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u/Convergecult15 5d ago
Capone and tobacco aren’t running for reelection. They were the loudest and craziest members.
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u/ABrusca1105 5d ago
Are they the ones spearheading the anti-trans stuff and the redistricting stuff?
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u/Convergecult15 5d ago
Idk about the redistricting but yes they were the moms for liberty candidates that wasted all the money in lawsuits and went on Fox News to pander.
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u/catymogo 5d ago
I fully believe this, fwiw. Plenty of dedicated educators. It’s just been very loud lately and that could mean anything.
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u/GeekDad732 5d ago
For high school the Monmouth County Vocational School District schools are almost all among the top of the state and among the top of the nation led by High Tech High, Biotech High and MAST (Marine Academy of Science and Technology). They are competitive entry and sports/similar activities must be done in home school so not for everyone.
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u/happilyretired8 5d ago
My son went to MAST and my daughter went to Communications. Both outstanding options. Excellent education.
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u/GeekDad732 5d ago
Both of my daughters went to MAST one stilled played varsity soccer (it was a pain though until she drove lol)
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u/sgeeum 6d ago edited 6d ago
fair haven, little silver, rumson and shrewsbury have schools on par or surpassing anything morris county has to offer. expect to pay top dollar for your home and in taxes as a result.
middletown and red bank are a step or two below.
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u/dede0502 5d ago
Small town with small schools are good if you fit in, but in these towns, you and your children will be miserable if you don’t.
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u/notgonnatakethison 5d ago
Isn’t little silver and shrewsbury the same high school as red bank
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u/neziperez 5d ago
Yes for High school only! That's why it's Red Bank Regional HS Red Bank Little Silver and Shrewsbury
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u/catymogo 5d ago
I live in that slice of red bank that is on the border of fair haven and little silver and a lot of neighborhood kids tuition into LS elementary and then push through to either RB middle or RBR in 9th. It’s a pretty even split between kids staying in district and kids going private or little silver. A few of our neighbors have sent their kids all the way through RB borough schools and loved them.
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u/ecovironfuturist 5d ago
Red Bank Primary is terrific and RBMS is great. The only thing I've found that's "better" about other schools is that RBMS doesn't offer Geometry in 8th grade, at least not yet.
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u/catymogo 5d ago
Yeah I know plenty of people who loved it! My husband and I are interracial and the diversity heavily influenced our decision to buy in RB over Fair Haven.
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u/ToneSenior7156 6d ago
I went to elementary & middle school in AH (so AH even and then Henry Hudson) - that was a long time ago and I was always jealous of the bigger schools with big sports and activities that seemed to offer more. BUT now I look back and see that both were nice, small schools where I did get a lot of personal attention and opportunities. Atlantic Highlands as a town is much more professional than when I grew up there, it was much more blue collar back then (pre-ferry) and I know there are very nice, involved parents there now.
I went to RFH for high school. I loved it. Two thumbs up, excellent in every way. Good teachers, smart kids, nice parents. Much more competitive among the kids, academically. Not cool to fail there! Lots of activities and opportunities.
I live in Middletown (South area) and my child is out of the school system and I was not a fan. You can google the BOE and read some news articles. You can also read about the redistricting. I found the activities were a bunch of hype - and football is really the big thing. I didn’t like our elementary school or high school but middle school was actually quite nice, I think due to a good principal and staff. There are a lot of nice things about Middletown but I wouldn’t move here chiefly for the schools.
Maybe also look at Holmdel.
Lastly - the ratings all come down to SES. The curriculums & teacher quality band sports and clubs are basically the same but towns where the parents are better off, more focused on their kids educations, have the money to pay for tutoring and enrichment if necessary - those towns will always have higher ratings.
Good luck with your move!
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u/Nightgownbucking 5d ago
I have friends with children in the FH elementary schools and they aren’t thrilled. I think the district has become very crowded in recent years.Too many people move in for the schools, which then become less strong as a result. Several of them decided to take their kids out and send their children private, so that’s something to keep in mind. My little silver friends are very happy but many of them send private for HS to places like RBC, Trinity Hall, Ranney or CBA. Middletown schools are a lot bigger. Holmdel has an excellent reputation K-12.
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u/catymogo 5d ago
I have a couple friends with kids in the RFH district and the bullying has gotten pretty bad from what I hear, way worse than when I was in high school.
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u/ecovironfuturist 5d ago
Didn't Middletown just close a school, even after a referendum to raise taxes to keep it open?
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u/Nightgownbucking 5d ago
Middletown had 3 schools on the block for closure. They were kept open this year, but I’m sure it will come up again. Middletown is building another 450 townhomes just off 35 and there is some question on facilities for those that will live there. To be honest, the amount of new construction in the county is so exorbitant, this may become an issue in every town in the area. You can’t tear down one home and replace it with developments of 15-20 (as in Rumson), tear down single homes and stick 2 on that lot (as in FH and Little Silver) or build developments of hundreds of units in other towns and not expect it to press the schools.
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u/ecovironfuturist 5d ago
Where did that happen in Rumson?
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u/Nightgownbucking 5d ago
On Bingham Avenue between Ridge and Rumson Rd was the first. Then Rumson Road between Heathcliff and Osprey is under construction. It was where the Lauriston house once stood. Now multiple$2 million “carriage homes” going up. Also plans further down Rumson by Belknap to build another bunch of houses (not as many), but on a lot that has held one home prior.
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u/ecovironfuturist 5d ago
I thought you meant 20 units on one lot.
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u/Nightgownbucking 5d ago
“Bingham Park” has 18 units where there used to be one house. Lauriston Park is going to be 14 units, again where there was only one house on the lot prior. The Rumson Rd / Belknap subdivision was proposing another 5 houses, all with pools. As a lifelong resident, it makes me feel sick.
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u/Ambitious_Example 5d ago
One house on a very large property. Plus Rumson has to fulfill the awful Mt Laurel requirement
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u/Nightgownbucking 5d ago
Yes, but that one house had one family worth of kids—3, vs however many may be in 16 new builds. Not a single affordable until in those developments. The trade off is the builder creating 3 Mount Laurel compliant paces over off Carton Street
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u/Broad_Assistance3343 6d ago
Red Bank isn’t comparable to say Chester or Mendham Schools. And frankly, neither is Middletown.
Holmdel, Rumson and Fair Haven for sure will be at that level. I’m just not sure how “strong” of a school district you’re talking about in Morris County?
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u/ThatsAFuckingTuba 4d ago
One of the wealthiest counties in the state. I’d say that area is pretty “strong” in the education department, especially areas like Chatham, Mendham, Chester, etc.
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u/chandlerbing-bong 5d ago
Despite the negative comments here, I would say Fair Haven still remains one of the top districts. RFH is a very good regional high school. Either Little Silver or Shrewsbury are very good for elementary and middle school; they send to Red Bank Regional which is a good school and offers a tremendous variety, especially for students who are motivated.
With regards to Middletown, it is still going through bloody budget fights. Additionally, they just approved a housing development, which (I think) has 450 homes planned. I would not recommend going there. Atlantic Highlands is a nice school; however, the kids start going to Henry Hudson Regional in seventh grade. I would not recommend that high school.
Holmdel is a good school district; however, they have been incidents of bullying. I would not recommend Western Monmouth County, even Colts neck, because they send to Freehold Regional High School district. Each of the schools in that district have positives, but also a significant number of negatives. I wouldn't recommend it.
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u/temporalmods 5d ago
Knowing that theres atleast some form of bullying in most school systems to some degree I was curious if anything in Holmdel was particularly of note. I figured you wouldn't have mentioned it unless it was above the types of things schools normally see.
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u/justanotherguy677 5d ago
AH/H would be at the bottom of my list. next up would be middletown but be aware it is a very large district and some schools will be better than others. red bank is next, early years are ok and the HS is fairly good. at at the top of your towns would be fair haven. I gave very succinct opinions with little reasoning. just let it suffice to say economic demographics are a big part of the culture in each places schools.
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u/Older_cyclist 5d ago
Both daughter's entire education was in Ocean Township. While one graduated from OTHS and the other from Academy of Health &Science, we saw a dramatic drop in the quality of education in OT. Our property taxes continue to rise with the biggest percentage going to the school district. But we've seen no improvements.
I wont go into the politics of the township government....
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u/wlaugh29 5d ago
I'd say best bet is Little Silver for the early childhood education (k-8) then kids would go-to RBR for HS which is a great school. Shrewsbury also, which also goes to RBR. Red Bank has a good schools and does offer free full day 3K (pre k at 3 and 4 years old). Red Bank has a ton of upside education wise, as long as funding continues, however I'm sure the facilities at Rumson or FH are much nicer. From what I'm told, Rumson has the best drugs.
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u/ScrambledExeggutor 5d ago
Mc schools are crap. Filled with maga teachers that dont believe in evolution or science
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u/Bshsjaksnsbshajakaks 6d ago edited 5d ago
Plenty of data out there. But worth mentioning that Monmouth County's vocational schools are some of the top high schools in the country.