Montclair Public Schools

School district in Essex County, New Jersey, US

As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprising 11 schools, had an enrollment of 6,441 students and 574.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.2:1. The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J. Each school has a magnet theme, which becomes the focus of the school's teaching style. Students have "freedom of choice" as to which school they want to attend. School selection is not dictated based on location of residence within Montclair. School preferences are accommodated as long as space is available.

In both the 1989–90 and 1993 94 school years, Watchung School was recognized with the National Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence from the United States Department of Education, the highest honor that an American school can achieve. Hillside School was recognized as a Blue Ribbon School for the 1987 88 school year. The district was awarded the New Jersey Governor's Award for Performance Excellence – Silver in 2005, was commended by the United States Department of Education as one of six exemplary magnet school programs in the nation, was recognized by The Wall Street Journal for its public schools, and was certified by the New Jersey Department of Education during the 2004 05 school year. Montclair Public Schools was cited for its magnet school program, as one of six school districts nationwide selected as the focus of Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet School Programs, describing those schools whose "successful magnet programs offer a range of contexts, experiences, and perspectives". Nishuane School was named as a "Star School" by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve, in the 1993 94 school year. Watchung School was also named a Star School for 1993 94.

The district's board of education, composed of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2022) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day to day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district. As a Type I school district until 2021, the board had had seven trustees who had been appointed by the mayor to serve three year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either two or three members up for reappointment each year. Of the more than 600 school districts statewide, Montclair was one of 15 districts with appointed school boards. In 2009, voters rejected a referendum proposal that would have switched the district from a Type I (appointed) to a Type II (elected) board. In a 2020 referendum, after five separate times when voters supported retaining the Type I / mayoral appointment system, voters approved the switch to a Type II / elected board by a more than two to one margin. The change to an elected board meant that the size of the board increased to nine seats. In a March 2022 special election, voters elected two candidates to fill those added seats that will expire in December 2023, with three seats up for election each November as part of the general election, starting in 2022.