NJ has the 5th safest high schools in the country

If you’re a parent, Every time you hear about a violent act in a school anywhere in the country, your stomach clenches a little. Or a lot.

The first thing you think is: how safe are my kids in school here in New Jersey?

Safety is a top priority for high school students, and Scholaroo knows it well. They did a study delving into a lot of data to uncover the safest states for students all over the United States.

By scrutinizing various safety parameters, including crime rates and school security, their study wants to provide students and their families with crucial insights for their educational and personal well-being.

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The study looked at factors that actually make a school an unsafe environment.

Some of those are bullying, exposure to illegal drugs, forced sexual intercourse, physical attacks or threats with weapons.

They also took the presence of school resource officers into account.

Thankfully, New Jersey secures the fifth spot for the safest school system in the nation in state-to-state rankings.

Here's the rundown of the top 10 safest school systems, starting with the safest:

1. Washington
2. Delaware
3. Kentucky
4. Oklahoma
5. New Jersey
6. Connecticut
7. Minnesota
8. South Dakota
9. Massachusetts
10. Vermont

Now, I’m sure you’re curious about which schools were at the bottom of the list.

Take a look at the 10 least safe state school systems.

From bottom to top, they are Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, and Arkansas.

Of course, there is no underestimating the importance of safety in schools. So it’s comforting to know that New Jersey is so high up on this list.

The 30 best rated schools in New Jersey

Here are the top 30 schools statewide, based on their 2021-2022 New Jersey School Performance Reports — involving scores for language arts, math and attendance. (For an explanation of how the state calculates the "accountability indicator scores" and overall rating for each school, see page 90 of this reference guide.)

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt

The 30 worst rated schools in New Jersey

Here are the 30 lowest-rated schools statewide, based on their 2021-2022 New Jersey School Performance Reports — involving scores for language arts, math and attendance. (For an explanation of how the state calculates the "accountability indicator scores" and overall rating for each school, see page 90 of this reference guide.)

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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