West Orange School Is Among ‘Most Diverse' In N.J. Report Says

WEST ORANGE, NJ — If you’re seeking a diverse student body, you might want to take a look at Mt. Pleasant Elementary School in West Orange.

The school was recently named by Public School Review as one of the "Most Diverse Schools in the U.S," and a top ten school in the state of New Jersey.

According to the Public School Review report, which can be seen here:

• Mount Pleasant Elementary School serves 414 students in grades K-5
• Minority enrollment is 72% of the student body (majority Black and Hispanic), as compared to the state average of 51%
• The school's “diversity score” of 0.76 is more than the state average of 0.68

Mt. Pleasant students and staff recently celebrated their new status with their annual carnival and barbecue, followed by a special assembly acknowledging the diversity of the student body. Each student created a flag depicting their ethnicity and waved them as Principal Julie DiGiacomo called out the names of different countries.

“I’ve already called out so many countries and we still have so many more,” DiGiacomo told students.

Photo: Cynthia Cumming

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