I need info
 

About some North Jersey towns. I know very few, and I'm applying to teach, and want to make sure I don't try going into the "bad" areas for safety sake.

I'm staying away from Newark and Paterson. BUt what about places like Passaic, West Paterson, so on and so forth. Any information about what towns to avoid in Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex, and Hudson counties would be appreciated.

Im pretty sure you would be safe to teach just about anywhere in Bergen. I'm over in Hawthorne which is in Passaic county and it is a very nice school/area. When I start to substitute/student teach next semester I hope I can stay local.

I would defenitly stay away from towns like Paterson & Haledon (Manchester high school esp.) right off the bat.

Morris County's great.

I can get you the H.S. school report from 2004 which will give you an idea of the school systems in the whole state and where to stay away from.

Obviously ignore towns like Newark, bloomfield, irvington etc. the western part of essex co. is ok, caldwell, verona, cedar grove, fairfield etc. Remind me about the report I have it at my office.

Is that High school reports? I'm lookin at K-3, so High school would do no good. But if it covers elementary schools too, please send it my way ;)

pretty much anything north of you from wayne is decent. butler, west milford, places in bergen like alex said

edit: i went to apshawa elementary school in west milford, really nice area, it was right around a lake community. and its barely in west milford, probably only 15-20 mins from you, if that

Roxbury is OK, but only a cpl rooms in the entire school has windows so it used to get really stuffy there :lol:

O nvm, i saw ur gonna do K-3 ... lol, Roxbury was great when i was little... not a HUGE population, and there is 5 different elementary schools in town... two of them is K-3, two are K-5, and one is 4-6

that hurts...
:cry:










nahh...i agree...i live a block away from School 27 but i ended up going to catholic school one town over...:lol:

in bergen, stay outta teaneck, bergenfeild, and hackensack too, just easier that way, they arent that bad but so many other towns are so much better.

Agreed with Paul, though Bergenfield isn't too bad, and their pay scale is goooooood. Most of the towns in Bergen County pay really well (except where I work anyway, cheap bastids).

Also, I checked at work; there's nothing posted for K-3 in Cliffside Park, and my sister-in-law said they have one K-3 opening in Fairview, but it's for Special Ed. Are you certified for that?

being engaged with james, i'd say she is :lol:

it is a high school report they can't run a grading scale on elementary schools. TECHNICALLY. But you can assume that any H.S. with poor results is typical of the children in the area and the school system in general.

If that was the only certification requirement, then yes! But unfortunately it's much more involved than that. And, no I am not special ed certified, and I doubt I can do alternate route for that (I'm doing alternate route for this as is). Thanks for checking TPI :)

I thought they do do grading systems for elementary schools, since the kids are required to take the NJASK and GEPA in 3rd, 4th, 5th, and then 8th through HS. But you've got a point, a low score would indicate problems throughout the system. Send it my way...or bring it over if you show up anytime soon ;)


Thanks for all the information guys.

Is West Paterson just as bad as Paterson? I'm actually getting desperate now, since there is a chance our benefits will be removed soon.

West Paterson seems nicer than Paterson.

Stay out of Hudson County all together. Pay sucks.

New area...Union county...how bad is Union township/city. I'm staying away from Elizabeth...but what about the other towns? Any others to stay away from?

Berkeley Heights/New Providance/Mountain side are really nice areas, i used to live there.

edit* i went into a retard mode, you dont have to stay away from those, they are nice :lol:

Very nice areas (Westfield, etc), may be tough to get into- especially if you are new. My gf teaches first grade in Millburn (Short Hills, in Essex Co. I think), that's pretty much her opinion as well.

Yeah, I expect certain areas to be difficult, especially seeing what a teacher at Step one (entry level) makes in Westfield. Which is why I was looking at Union township, because it's a big district (7 or 8 elementary schools) which means a high chance of a need for a teacher. Work there, get my experience, and then move out to a smaller and higher paying area.