Schools

Berkeley Heights, New Providence Among Safest Schools In NJ

NJ schools are on edge following the shooting tragedy in Florida. Many districts are being recognized for keeping their students safe.

NEW PROVIDENCE/BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ — Berkeley Heights Public Schools and New Providence School District were both ranked among the safest schools in New Jersey. Berkeley Heights ranked 39th and New Providence ranked 61th in Niche.com's list.

The rankings were based on student and parent ratings of health and safety, area crime rates, and rates for expulsion, suspension, and school related arrests. Read more on how this ranking was calculated.

Berkeley Heights ranked an A+ for Health & Safety.

Find out what's happening in New Providence-Berkeley Heightsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"Top notch academics and excellent teachers. I couldn't ask for a better education for my children. Music, vocal, computer, art, Spanish programs. Focus on science too," a reviewer said of Berkeley Heights.

New Providence ranked an A for Health & Safety.

Find out what's happening in New Providence-Berkeley Heightsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"There were many outstanding students there and some of the teachers were fantastic. Many programs were strong too, which instilled a lot of pride and enjoyment," a reviewer said of New Providence.

Additionally both districts did not report any incidents involving weapons in 2016-17.

Many other districts, ironically, appeared on Patch's Monday list of 578 schools that had incidents involving weapons in 2016-17.

Read more: How Many Weapons Were Found In Scotch Plains-Fanwood Schools?

Read more: Weapons Found In These 578 NJ Schools During 2016-17 Year

East Brunswick was No. 2 and No. 9 nationally. Just this past week, East Brunswick High School student was arrested after allegedly making a terroristic threat in an online post, school officials said. The district also plans to place armed police officers at each school building in response to the Florida shootings.

The rankings were based on student and parent ratings of health and safety, area crime rates, and rates for expulsion, suspension, and school related arrests. Read more on how this ranking was calculated.

Read the complete list here.

(Photo by USA via Shutterstock.com)

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