Watchung Elementary School

14 Garden Street

School District

Montclair Public
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:13
Type

public

School Map for Montclair Public School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on May 24, 2024

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!!!!!!!
Submitted by parent on November 06, 2023

The teachers have been amazing with engaging our daughter across a variety of subjects. They communicate often and clearly with us and are a pleasure to deal with day to day. We have been very impressed at the advancement we have seen in math and reading in 3 years.
Submitted by parent on March 30, 2016

Excellent school with great teachers & parents. There always complainers at every school. It's all dependent on your teacher & how your child is doing, just like in every school.
Submitted by parent on October 04, 2015

There are obvious classism and racism issues at this school. Most of the fellow parents are cliquey and form their exclusive groups. PTA does not make all parents feel welcome to contribute. Sometimes new kids are excluded by children and I have personally seen some parents who encouraged such behavior in their children. Gym teacher is unnecessarily strict and impersonal. I have almost never seen him smile in three years we spent at Watchung! Most teachers are average at best. We are at a different Montclair school now and as a mixed race couple, we feel welcome and part of the school community. My son comes home happy every day from school. Watchung unfortunately does not have cohesive and supportive environment where every child is valued and every parent is respected.
Submitted by parent on August 17, 2015

Like any school, private or public, it's all dependent upon the actual teacher teaching your child in the classroom. We've had 60/40 experience with the pot luck of teachers at the Watchung School. For example, my child had 3 language arts teachers in 7 months due to the original LA teacher being on maternity leave-only to come back right after the PARRC exams were administered and when she came back, her mind wasn't on teaching. It was still with her new born baby-wished she would have stayed home but then she would have lost her tenured. Also...Since we just moved to the district, they put my other child at Watchung School in a class where the teacher was just an awful teacher but personally very nice as a person. For example, she didn't tell me that my child did not do daily math worksheets (over 120 pages!) until late February during our second parent-teacher conference! She said she wasn't concerned bc he was so smart and she knew he could do it. :-< what about discipline, responsibility and reinforcement?!? -obviously she had no control in the class. Her approach is more free flowing whereas my child needed more structure. I took the workbook home to complete. I've found that he did know most of the math but needed help and had gaps in his learning like telling time and measurement, but I was glad I made him take the time to do all the work he missed out on! It was reinforcing what he already knew and we took time learning areas where he needed help in. Sounds a lot like home schooling here but that's exactly what needs to be done if you get a teacher that's not a good teacher. So I have Watchung School a poor rating bc these are major, core subjects-not music, art or greenhouse. Oh, the greenhouse is nothing to be excited about. The teacher is lovely but again, some students bond and some students get left behind base on their relationship with the teacher. If your child is among the selected and chosen, they may get a more in dept education in what this greenhouse is all about. Otherwise, don't hold your breath. There are a handful of really good teachers-lucky if you get any of them. But new and transfer students obviously get placed in a class with the more undesirerable teachers. Thus, I've moved to Montclair, had my children in Montclair school - Watchung School for a year and now transferred them out and into private school a few blocks away.
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2013

It seems to me that the rating has been dropping since 2009 as the principal situation has been unstable since about that time. Underwhelmed with current principal. Preferred Dr. T who stayed for 2 years before moving into assitant superintendent position in Newark.
Submitted by parent on May 25, 2010

Watchung School is not better than the other schools in Montclair. My child got a better education at another school. Watchung just has a reputation for being better but it's not.
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2010

I've got to say that my feelings have changed about the school, now that my child is in 4th grade. Up until this point, I have been happy. However, this year I think that the way in which the students are taught in 4th grade (switching teachers) combined with an overly zealous language arts teacher and a lack of understanding as to how to effectively integrate differentiated learning on the part of the teachers, has led to a an inapproriately competitive environment. As a parent, I am very frustrated this year, but overall, I do think Watchung's academics are more like Glen Ridge's than like the rest of Montclair, for better or worse.
Submitted by parent on September 08, 2008

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Submitted by student on January 17, 2008

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Submitted by student on December 03, 2007

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