The Clair

The people in the system (educators, their support staff and counselors) are fantastic. They are most important. 5 stars. The course offerings, student support, special education, all seem very good. There are some weaknesses I found in computer science and music. 4 stars. The upper admin staff (principals, etc...) are meh. I rate them 2 stars. The biggest reason for this is the turnover is ridiculous. Something keeps them from sticking around.Facilities at MHS are awful. When you walk into the building you feel like you went back in time to the 1950s or something. Some of the hallways and other areas are poorly lit. There are often structural issues with staircases, flooding and other infrastructure issues. Everything in there is old and worn out. Counselors sometimes have meetings with staff, students, and parents in closets because of lack of space. Or, if the closet is already taken, you have to find a desk and drag it into the hall to have your meeting there. If there happens to be a carpet it's old and severely worn out. This is supposed to be an affluent community, but yet the kids get the terrible facilities. It's embarrasing. I feel bad for the kids and teachers that have to go there every single day. They all deserve better. This building needs the wrecking ball 100%. 1 star or less at best. The saddest part of this is Montclair is a fantastic community. School taxes are crazy high for what your kids get, however.

We are having a fantastic experience at Bradford. Wonderful teachers, welcoming community and a lot of support for whatever challenges your child might have. It feels like a real win to be able to have my child at this school.

I have no complaints about Edgemont. The amount of support you get from their community is above and beyond . From the teachers to the staff, superb. I hope it doesn’t change.

Aweful School, Very dark. Education is poor, School is in 20+ Million dollars of debt.

We love Hillside for its diversity, opportunities, and fantastic staff!

Horrendous. Even with the name change to Buzz Aldrin, it’s an awful place for children of color. Looking for diversity and fairness, Run!!

We have two children who both love their experiences here. Excellent focus on social-emotional development as well as academics.

The school is a cluster of tension. Teachers don’t trust teacher. Student often tell on each other like thier is some type of reward offered. Everyone is stabbing each other in the back to please queen b. Northeast has a few good teacher but it seems like every last one of them is in the move get out and the principle has the tea cup

School district has declined. Principals are not on “top” of their teachers. For example, the music department at Watchung elementary is terrible. Kids watch videos and do coloring worksheets. The winter concert is ok- I had my son in K and they didn’t even sing about the friggen snow or anything festive! They sang “head shoulders…” the ABCs and some other songs they sing at a preschool level!! Terrible! There’s a whole FB thread on the Watchung FB group you can check out- many parents of all grade levels complained about this- yet nobody is doing anything about it. Seems like the curriculums are in place but teachers are taking their own spin on things or using half the pacing guides given. Before you buy a home and dump taxes In tje town- do your research!!!!!!!

Both our sons went through the Charles Bullock Schools with the younger one still enrolled. I found the quality of education staff in the school - the empathy, care, and creativity they show - to be extremely high. The principal is one of the best you will find in Montclair, very engaged, and takes the time to meet and understand the students and families. The school has a good G&T program and a great G&T teacher. I would highly recommend Charles Bullock to other parents along with the consistency of having 5 years of schooling.