New Jersey Promising Practices Project
What is the Promising Practices Project?
The purpose of the Promising Practices Project (PPP) is to identify and document promising practices for learning acceleration in K-12 schools, particularly those practices which emerged in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, a time which functioned as a “crucible of innovation” in the education arena. The research team developed a rigorous, mixed methods approach which permitted us to identify positive outlier schools (i.e., those exceeding predicted academic growth), research factors associated with positive outlier status, interview teachers and administrators about practices they deem effective in improving student learning, and disseminate findings broadly.
In selecting the Promising Practices schools, we deliberately included schools that represented a wide range of communities, including those serving students with various levels of need, with various levels of racial/ethnic diversity, in counties across the state, etc. By applying an equity lens to our methodology, this project aims to amplify and share promising practices that have been proven effective across various types of schools. Our goal is to ensure that all administrators in New Jersey can see themselves reflected in another school’s success and readily replicate those practices to accelerate student learning.
![New Jersey Department of Education Promising Practices A diverse group of middle school students works collaboratively together on a robotics project](https://policylab.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/New-Jersey-Department-of-Education-Promising-Practices-1.png)
How were New Jersey schools selected?
![Map of New Jersey Department of Education Promising Practices Selected Schools](https://policylab.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Map-of-New-Jersey-Department-of-Education-Promising-Practices-Selected-Schools.png)
The selection process/approach to identifying Promising Practices schools:
We used NJDOE School Performance Reports, student demographic/testing data, and NCES socioeconomic files to model predicted vs. actual performance and selected schools that appeared as positive outliers. We identified schools that advanced student learning at various levels of achievement for all students and some subgroups of historically underserved students (i.e., English learners, students with disabilities, economically disadvantaged students, and Black and Hispanic students). Schools were selected based on overall, subgroup-specific, and post-COVID improvements. The schools selected for this research project represent a sample of the schools identified as positive outliers.
What it means to be a Promising Practices school:
The Promising Practices schools have done exemplary work – resulting in better than predicted student learning outcomes when comparing pre- to post-pandemic performance in English language arts and mathematics. Teams of Rutgers researchers have engaged with schools across New Jersey and documented promising practices behind the data, facilitating rich conversations in focus groups with school staff (e.g., principals, assistant principals, deans, teachers, directors of curriculum, and school support staff).
With the goal of capturing the impressive work being done across NJ schools, we aim to learn what school leaders consider to be innovative educational practices supporting learning acceleration that emerged in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis will focus on highlighting impactful, innovative, and replicable school and classroom practices – especially those which comparably situated schools in New Jersey might adopt to help propel student growth.
County | District | School |
Atlantic | Atlantic City School District | Chelsea Heights School |
Atlantic | Galloway Township Public School District | Reeds Road Elementary School |
Atlantic | Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District | Oakcrest High School |
Bergen | Bergenfield Borough School District | Hoover Elementary School |
Bergen | Garfield Public School District | Woodrow Wilson School #5 |
Bergen | Lodi School District | Roosevelt School |
Camden | Cherry Hill School District | Rosa International Middle School |
Camden | Haddonfield School District | Central School |
Cape May | Lower Cape May Regional School District | Richard M. Teitelman Middle School |
Cape May | Ocean City School District | Ocean City High School |
Cumberland | Millville School District | Rieck Avenue Elementary School |
Cumberland | Vineland Public School District | Marie Durand Elementary School |
Essex | Caldwell-West School District | Lincoln Elementary School |
Essex | Newark Public School District | University High School |
Essex | Orange Board Of Education School District | Orange Preparatory Academy School of Inquiry and Innovation |
Gloucester | Deptford Township Public School District | Good Intent Elementary School |
Gloucester | Gateway Regional High School District | Gateway Regional High School |
Gloucester | Monroe Township Public School District | Radix Elementary |
Gloucester | Swedesboro-Woolwich School District | Walter Hill School |
Gloucester | Township of Franklin School District | Caroline L. Reutter School |
Gloucester | Washington Township School District | Birches Elementary School |
Gloucester | Washington Township School District | Whitman Elementary School |
Hudson | Hoboken Public School District | Joseph F Brandt Elementary School |
Hudson | Union City School District | Sara M. Gilmore Academy |
Hunterdon | Flemington-Raritan Regional School District | Reading-Fleming Intermediate School |
Mercer | Princeton Charter School | Princeton Charter School |
Middlesex | Woodbridge Township School District | Oak Tree Road Elementary School |
Middlesex | Woodbridge Township School District | Robert Mascenik Elementary School |
Monmouth | College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School District | College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School |
Monmouth | Hazlet Township Public School District | Middle Road School |
Monmouth | Middletown Township Public School District | Navesink Elementary School |
Morris | Parsippany-Troy Hills Township School District | Mount Tabor Elementary School |
Ocean | Berkeley Township School District | H & M Potter School |
Ocean | Brick Township Public School District | Brick Township Memorial High School |
Ocean | Lacey Township School District | Cedar Creek Elementary School |
Passaic | Passaic City School District | Passaic Gifted and Talented Academy School No. 20 |
Passaic | Passaic City School District | Passaic Preparatory Academy |
Passaic | Paterson Public School District | Charles J. Riley, School 9 |
Passaic | Paterson Public School District | School 28 |
Passaic | Wayne Township Public School District | Packanack Elementary School |
Passaic | West Milford Township Public School District | Upper Greenwood Lake Elementary School |
Somerset | Bound Brook School District | Community Middle School |
Somerset | North Plainfield School District | North Plainfield Middle School |
Somerset | South Bound Brook Public School District | Robert Morris School |
Sussex | Hamburg School District | Hamburg School |
Union | College Achieve Central Charter School | College Achieve Central Charter School |
Union | Cranford Public School District | Orange Avenue School |
Union | Elizabeth Public Schools | Elmora School No. 12 |
Union | Plainfield Public School District | Dewitt D. Barlow Elementary School |
Union | Plainfield Public School District | Frederic W. Cook Elementary School |
Union | Roselle Public School District | Harrison Elementary School |
Warren | North Warren Regional School District | North Warren Regional School |
Sharing Promising Practices for learning acceleration:
We will be adding resources to this website and sharing promising practices through statewide convenings (Spring 2025) where representatives from public schools across New Jersey will get the chance to share strategies for improving student learning.