Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

Summary:

Herma S. Simmons Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 671 students in grades PK-5 in Clayton, New Jersey, which is part of the Clayton Public School District. The school faces significant challenges, with low academic performance, high chronic absenteeism, and a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students.

Herma S. Simmons has a more diverse student population compared to many nearby schools, with 46.65% White, 24.29% African American, and 17.44% Hispanic students. However, the school consistently ranks in the bottom third of New Jersey elementary schools, with only 29.1% of 3rd graders, 39.2% of 4th graders, and 51.6% of 5th graders proficient or better in English Language Arts. This performance lags behind many surrounding schools, such as Thomas Jefferson Elementary, Oak Knoll Elementary, and Holly Glen Elementary, which all have higher academic performance and lower chronic absenteeism rates.

Despite the school's overall challenges, its African American and Special Education student subgroups perform relatively better, ranking in the top half of New Jersey schools for those subgroups. Additionally, Herma S. Simmons has a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 10.8, which is lower than many nearby schools. These findings suggest that there may be opportunities to build on existing strengths and address the school's weaknesses through targeted interventions and support.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 300 West Chestnut Street
       Clayton, NJ  08312-1700


(856) 881-8704

District: Clayton Public School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
914th of 1,342 New Jersey Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $9,240 Help


Students who attend Herma S. Simmons Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Clayton Middle School
High:    Clayton High School

Student/teacher ratio:  10.8 Help
Number of students:  671

Racial breakdown:

White:
46.6%
African American:
24.3%
Hispanic:
17.4%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  44.7% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Herma S. Simmons Elementary School ranks worse than 68.1% of elementary schools in New Jersey. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2023 the calculated Average Standard Score was 32.28. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a high school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Student population at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (46.6%), African American (24.3%), Hispanic (17.4%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 44.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School is 10.8. (See more...)
Help
Compare Herma S. Simmons Elementary School employs 62 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School is $9,240.
Schooldigger 2023 Rankings:

Herma S. Simmons Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Herma S. Simmons Elementary School 914th of 1342 New Jersey public elementary schools. (See Herma S. Simmons Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Clayton Public School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Clayton Public School District 493rd of 615 New Jersey school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 53.17 681st 1204 43.4%
2004 39.99 929th 1298 28.4%
2005 36.31 979th 1303 24.9%
2006 36.58 984th 1314 25.1%
2007 40.52 979th 1329 26.3%
2008 35.05 1023rd 1338 23.5%
2009 32.72 1035th 1346 23.1%
2010 35.44 1007th 1354 25.6%
2011 33.93 1022nd 1360 24.9%
2012 43.38 908th 1363 33.4%
2013 32.45 1029th 1367 24.7%
2014 43.21 907th 1363 33.5%
2015 33.15 940th 1357 30.7%
2016 32.65 940th 1346 30.2%
2017 28.30 1006th 1352 25.6%
2018 19.35 1128th 1353 16.6%
2019 19.67 1125th 1360 17.3%
2021 25.19 936th 1317 28.9%
2022 29.32 947th 1345 29.6%
2023 32.28 914th 1342 31.9%
See the entire list of New Jersey Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 30.25 643rd 1001 35.8%
2019 25.88 722nd 1007 28.3%
2021 40.10 463rd 868 46.7%
2022 58.56 320th 949 66.3%
2023 51.61 381st 958 60.2%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 20.22 833rd 942 11.6%
2019 26.95 699th 948 26.3%
2021 41.08 472nd 839 43.7%
2022 45.28 440th 863 49.0%
2023 39.82 518th 910 43.1%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 16.43 1140th 1333 14.5%
2019 19.23 1099th 1331 17.4%
2021 24.98 942nd 1290 27.0%
2022 36.02 830th 1326 37.4%
2023 31.52 896th 1318 32.0%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 25.16 1031st 1334 22.7%
2019 21.89 1059th 1335 20.7%
2021 28.90 860th 1297 33.7%
2022 25.61 972nd 1324 26.6%
2023 34.61 842nd 1315 36.0%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 36.16 321st 517 37.9%
2019 25.69 433rd 522 17.0%
2021 51.02 191st 456 58.1%
2022 60.30 158th 494 68.0%
2023 51.05 206th 463 55.5%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 50.73 392nd 870 54.9%
2019 49.26 430th 899 52.2%
2021 28.54 697th 896 22.2%
2022 39.92 534th 953 44.0%
2023 30.28 683rd 982 30.4%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 10.41 945th 1022 7.5%
2019 10.37 941st 1023 8.0%
2021 17.37 867th 964 10.1%
2022 15.96 864th 976 11.5%
2023 22.43 793rd 975 18.7%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: New Jersey Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Herma S. Simmons Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: New Jersey Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 455 138 1 3 0 n/a n/a 0 597
1989 466 109 1 9 0 n/a n/a 0 585
1990 553 132 1 10 0 n/a n/a 0 696
1991 537 138 1 8 0 n/a n/a 0 684
1992 512 141 6 17 0 n/a n/a 0 676
1993 495 131 5 19 0 n/a n/a 0 650
1994 488 140 10 17 1 n/a n/a 0 656
1995 464 164 2 17 0 n/a n/a 0 647
1996 464 164 2 17 0 n/a n/a 0 647
1998 509 166 4 19 2 n/a n/a 0 700
1999 488 161 3 20 3 n/a n/a 0 675
2000 488 175 9 23 4 n/a n/a 0 699
2001 495 165 5 32 4 n/a n/a 0 701
2002 540 185 10 31 8 n/a n/a 0 774
2003 540 185 10 31 8 n/a n/a 0 774
2004 506 171 11 45 7 n/a n/a 0 740
2005 501 186 16 41 8 n/a n/a 0 752
2006 503 197 18 38 11 n/a n/a 0 767
2007 487 207 19 36 10 n/a n/a 0 759
2008 459 224 17 48 9 n/a n/a 0 757
2009 452 227 25 57 6 0 0 0 767
2010 455 226 31 63 7 0 21 0 803
2011 461 192 30 65 8 0 37 0 793
2012 421 153 25 74 6 0 44 0 723
2013 410 153 20 77 6 0 49 0 715
2014 416 144 19 89 5 0 65 0 738
2015 406 152 21 105 3 0 69 0 756
2016 391 142 18 113 3 0 69 0 736
2017 373 152 17 100 1 0 76 0 719
2018 355 135 13 90 1 0 73 0 667
2019 343 159 11 99 1 0 85 0 698
2020 326 170 11 114 1 0 74 0 696
2021 318 168 8 100 0 0 74 0 668
2022 316 159 8 100 2 0 73 0 658
2023 313 163 10 117 0 0 68 0 671

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 597 32.0 18.6 n/a
1989 585 33.0 17.7 n/a
1990 696 43.0 16.1 14.5
1991 684 42.0 16.2 19.4
1992 676 40.0 16.9 22.2
1993 650 42.0 15.5 26.5
1994 656 42.4 15.5 23.9
1995 647 41.0 15.8 29.4
1996 647 41.0 15.8 29.4
1998 700 43.5 16.1 29.9
1999 675 46.0 14.7 30.8
2000 699 45.5 15.4 42.9
2001 701 45.8 15.3 40.9
2002 774 51.0 15.2 33.5
2003 774 51.0 15.2 33.5
2004 740 46.5 15.9 31.5
2005 752 52.7 14.3 n/a
2006 767 50.0 15.3 33.9
2007 759 47.0 16.1 35.2
2008 757 40.0 18.9 61
2009 767 53.9 13.5 42.8
2010 803 54.0 14.8 46.8
2011 793 52.0 15.2 48.9
2012 723 51.6 13.9 48.3
2013 715 53.5 13.3 52.2
2014 738 55.0 13.4 52
2015 756 58.0 13.0 55.7
2016 736 58.0 12.6 50.3
2017 719 55.1 13.0 48
2018 667 54.5 12.2 44.2
2019 698 56.5 12.3 44.1
2020 696 56.5 12.3 44.8
2021 668 56.0 11.9 42.7
2022 658 59.0 11.1 30.2
2023 671 62.0 10.8 44.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 597 32.0 18.6 n/a
1989 585 33.0 17.7 n/a
1990 696 43.0 16.1 14.5
1991 684 42.0 16.2 19.4
1992 676 40.0 16.9 22.2
1993 650 42.0 15.5 26.5
1994 656 42.4 15.5 23.9
1995 647 41.0 15.8 29.4
1996 647 41.0 15.8 29.4
1998 700 43.5 16.1 29.9
1999 675 46.0 14.7 30.8
2000 699 45.5 15.4 42.9
2001 701 45.8 15.3 40.9
2002 774 51.0 15.2 33.5
2003 774 51.0 15.2 33.5
2004 740 46.5 15.9 31.5
2005 752 52.7 14.3 n/a
2006 767 50.0 15.3 33.9
2007 759 47.0 16.1 35.2
2008 757 40.0 18.9 61
2009 767 53.9 13.5 42.8
2010 803 54.0 14.8 46.8
2011 793 52.0 15.2 48.9
2012 723 51.6 13.9 48.3
2013 715 53.5 13.3 52.2
2014 738 55.0 13.4 52
2015 756 58.0 13.0 55.7
2016 736 58.0 12.6 50.3
2017 719 55.1 13.0 48
2018 667 54.5 12.2 44.2
2019 698 56.5 12.3 44.1
2020 696 56.5 12.3 44.8
2021 668 56.0 11.9 42.7
2022 658 59.0 11.1 30.2
2023 671 62.0 10.8 44.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,525 (16.5%) $7,715 (83.5%) $9,240

Data source: New Jersey Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 1125th of 1360 Elementary schoolsRanks 914th of 1342 Elementary schools
 14.6%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Herma S. Simmons Elementary School)21.929.1
 7.2%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Clayton Public School District)21.929.1
 7.2%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)50.242
 8.2%
3rd Grade Mathematics (Herma S. Simmons Elementary School)33.435.8
 2.4%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Clayton Public School District)33.435.8
 2.4%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)55.145.9
 9.2%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Herma S. Simmons Elementary School)41.939.2
 2.7%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Clayton Public School District)41.939.2
 2.7%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)57.451.3
 6.1%
4th Grade Mathematics (Herma S. Simmons Elementary School)24.416.5
 7.9%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Clayton Public School District)24.416.5
 7.9%
   4th Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)5144.3
 6.7%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Herma S. Simmons Elementary School)51.651.6
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Clayton Public School District)51.651.6
   5th Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)57.953.2
 4.7%
5th Grade Mathematics (Herma S. Simmons Elementary School)2631.6
 5.6%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Clayton Public School District)2631.6
 5.6%
   5th Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)46.840.1
 6.7%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students698671
 3.9%
African American159163
 2.5%
American Indian10
 100%
Asian1110
 9.1%
Hispanic99117
 18.2%
Pacific Islander00
White343313
 8.7%
Two or More Races8568
 20%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients44.1%44.7%
 0.6%


Schools Near Herma S. Simmons Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Herma S. Simmons Elementary School

Students who attend Herma S. Simmons Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Clayton Middle School
High : Clayton High School

Students at Herma S. Simmons Elementary School are 47% White, 24% African American, 17% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

In the 2022-23 school year, 671 students attended Herma S. Simmons Elementary School.

Herma S. Simmons Elementary School ranks 914th of 1342 New Jersey elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the New Jersey Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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