Top Schools in Jersey City, United States

This school is so bad, The school spends money on useless things instead of fixing and cleaning the school, Teachers will hate and target you if you miss one assignment or if you whisper to your friends in class. In 6th grade Mr.Monigle targeted me, once when I showed him my portfolio he looked at it for like 7.3 zepto seconds and gave me a 0. That's only one example of how he hated me also it wasn't just him 6th and 7th grade teachers hated me. And Also the school food is terrible I have gotten so much food poisoning from the school food so many times and the vegetarian option is so bad they give like beans and salad most of the time the only good food item at lunch is pizza and its only on Friday, also in most clubs in the school its basically nothing. And teachers are abusing their power by giving detention for the most simple things like talking. And if you think that's it, the students in this school try to be "edgy" and make weird jokes and say some bad things and so many fights happen right under teacher's noses even when its so obvious. The students are always talking smack about someone, weird, and annoying also some guys be trying to pants you and other guys touch your no no square. Don't come to this school it will ruin your mental health.

Pharmaceutical class

My daughter loves her Smart Start Family! Smart Start has exceeded all of our expectations. We love all of the classroom activities and our daughter has learned/grown so much since she started attending. Her teacher (Ms. Eli) has also been with her since she started at the Central location and our daughter LOVES her. We also love that they have a vegetarian menu and supply 3 meals/day which is included in the tuition. We moved out of Jersey City but still make the commute in so that our daughter can continue to foster her relationships with her classmates and teachers. I recommend this location without hesitation.

First year at Academy 1, honestly love it
The food is good most of the time (pizza, tater tots, chicken nuggies, and sweet potato fries bussin). Some other options like the grilled cheese are real nasty and unappetizing however.
Teachers are real chill and there isn't as much work as you'd expect. There's often little to none besides unfinished classwork. When there is actual homework however it's often given in small portions or extremely easy.
If you're an introvert, have social anxiety, or are just rlly worried about making friends and talking, don't be. There's a ton of personalities at A1. We've got nerds, goths, softies, class clowns, etc. P.S. Being a nerd is a GOOD thing. Anyways dw you'll find your perfect fit. People here are honestly great.
If you're expecting a grand red carpet welcoming and treatment, don't. This school's dirt poor. The gym roof tiles creak and have a few gaps. Drama, art, and a few other clubs are pretty well funded but the rest is quite old. It's not that bad and quite clean but certain things like the hallways need to be expanded and more lockers need to be added.
Choosing electives and clubs can be hard but there's always something that'll be perfect for you and your 1 choice. Although I haven't experienced music on the other hand drama's great. Mr. Neustein is rlly chill but will get annoyed if you forget your script (he'll make you do the chicken dance if you forget your script) or lines at drama club. He's like a more understanding and matured teen. Also if you're trying to get into CoderZ or Lego robotics, trust me it's not THAT hard getting in (BELIEVE IN YOURSELF) or at least Lego robotics isn't.
Overall, great school, great students, great teachers, good food, and OKAY resources. Would totally recommend joining its great place to hang and you'll find clubs, teachers, electives, and friends perfect for you. Everyone and thing is a new character. Might change my mind or add more in 7th or 8th grade don't know for now. "There are no such things as happy endings, there are only new beginnings"

-Me

First year in A1, This is the best school
Although a lot of work it is still a great school the food is very great but the students and teachers are better than all of this
Join this school
It is the best

Never send your kids to Smart Start, local parents FB groups for horror stories about this location.

“This unfortunately doesn't surprise me. This is one of the MANY reasons why we pulled our son out. It was 5 years ago, but the same ppl are still in charge and clearly implementing the same shady rules. And they own ALL the locations, so this doesn't just apply to the Central Ave one. They were constantly looking for reasons not to pay teachers, such as mandatory training days, many told us they were still in school yet the owners told us all teachers had graduated (who's lying, the teacher, or the owner?), and turnover was SO high and my kid cried being handed off to new people every week. Again, among many, many other issues. I also love how you wrote a very well thought out email about your safety concerns, and the reply only addressed your pay, which you didn't even ask about. I wouldn't be surprised if "HR" was one of the owners. They lie through their teeth and then try to blame you to cover themselves. I've seen and heard countless stories like that”

UPD: The response from the owner is bizarre, as I never worked as a teacher in any schools, I work in IT. Second, I didn't post any other reviews, a simple search can prove it. Surprised with such aggressive and nonsense response.

How do you not have a background check done when someone is around the infants!!!! Not only that you make people work for free for a week with children whose parents paid tuition!
You have strangers who could easily pick up a baby and do something terrible and walk out and have no information to give to the police ect . Not only are you scamming workers during this very tough economy but endangering babies ????
Crazy

Mr.Boylan never gives us a rest and is always trying to act funny but never is and honestly… the school in general is very small and poor. The food is horrible, the staff are mid and the only thing good are the students. Like this one teacher gave me a panic attack for grading a test wrong.

Honestly, This school is pretty good! I mean theres a variety of clubs to choose from. And also the food is very good! I mean the tatter tots are good and also the pizza. The school is also really clean too! The only exception right now is that theres a lot of homework and work, lots of signed papers, and sometimes the food is pretty bad. And even though this school is pretty strict, the school is overall good! There are many pros and some cons. I do want some stuff to be bigger like the hallways.

We moved to New Jersey when the world shut down during Covid. Many daycares were shut down or not taking any new students. Luckily, we found Smart Start.

From the very beginning, the staff was pleasant to work with and gave our son a very loving and exciting environment. He loved going to school everyday, seeing his teachers and his friends. We were impressed with what he was learning daily.

Then, some time later, we had our daughter. Once she was old enough and we enrolled her, they reminded us why we loved Smart Start so much. When we dropped her off, she would throw herself off of me to go to her teachers.

With my wife and I both working full-time jobs, Smart Start has helped us more than they know. By providing meals, it meant we could spend more time with the kids at home instead of meal prepping. Closing at 7 meant we can pick up our kids with peace of mind after commuting from NYC.

Thank you to all of the staff who have worked with Grayson and Olivia through these years, they miss you all. And a special thank you to Ms Cynthia, who always heard our concerns and worked with us to resolve anything.

I'm going here for middle school and it's really fun! Teachers and people are great here! School lunch is pretty fine here, it's not that bad. It is easy to make friends here if you are new here and have no friends. I love this school for their education, activities, and celebrations from other countries like Chinese New Year. I rate this school a 10/10 😀👍 (⁠✯⁠ᴗ⁠✯⁠)

Being a new mom finding a school is such a scary experience. However smart start academy has provided me with reassurance and confidence that my child is in great hands. I can’t thank you guys enough for making this transition easy for me as a new mom to get back to my norm. Very clean, well organized and staff is so well mannered thank you.

I can’t stress enough how much I love SSA Central location. I’ve been looking for a daycare for my son for months and speaking with the staff I just knew this is the daycare for my son. He has an awesome time & the staff are very caring and nurturing. He's always excited to go in, and getting daily updates through the app puts me at ease. Can't recommend enough.

I love Smart Start Academy ! If there's on place I can recommend any parent to put their child in for proper child care is this wonderful place. The staff there are always on top of things, and they really care about the children. My daughter has been going to SSA since she was 13 months old and now she's almost 2 and a half! She's learned a lot since she's started going their and even made some friends. I couldn't be amore happier for her. The best part is that you can also check in with your child with an app and they have cameras to make sure everyone's safe. Could not recommend them enough!

Love this place! Teachers and admin staff are respectful, friendly, competent and responsive. They really care about their students. My son is at the preschool and they provide different activities each day, he loves it! Shout-out to the amazing staff at SSA central, you're the best thank you!

You can feel the positivity bouncing off the damn building, like in the movies 😂 my son was a “behavior problem” in his POS last school which will remain nameless . In such a short amount of time, his entire character has changed. He’s positive, uplifted, respected and respectful, and just his behavior alone speaks volumes of the things instilled at this school. He’s behind but they acted immediately in enriching his education. All the events they have for both the students and parents makes learning really enjoyable. The communication is top tier. And his teacher, Ms. Carcano, she’s amazing. The entire staff is very supportive of the students, they know all the students by name, and greet them with hugs and high fives; it’s heart warming to see. Thank you Empowerment for showing my baby such an amazing amount of love, y’all were the change he needed.

There are some bullying going on but that happens in every school. I went through some drama and trauma but I really enjoy my time in a1. It's a very good school with good teachers. I have good friends and there is always someone to hang out with. The teachers are pretty laid back as well. It's also not for sensitive people so you really have to be tough but this school is cracked.

My daughter been there since Kindergarten. They helped me get the extra help she needed. They also communicate very well about the progress my child is making. She absolutely loves it there. I wouldn't change her school for nothing.

I've only been here 6-7 months and it's great! The teachers are super nice and the other students are wonderful. If you get into the AEP program, I suggest you go to Academy 1. We do need a mascot though.

Edit 1: It’s my second year in Academy 1 and my opinion hasn’t really changed that much. Teachers are pretty good, just stay on their good side. Lunch service and food is getting better, and they finally decided to fix the stage. The only thing I wish they would change is the amount of homework the teachers give us. I have to stay up for hours on end just to complete homework. Other than that, it’s a great school. If you’re thinking about applying for AEP, I strongly advise that you come to A1.

This organization a gem in the heart of jersey city. Great staff and great programs. I can not say enough positive things about this organization. My kids have participated in the camp and in school programs and I am so glad Educational Arts exists!

This school is the BEST education decision we have made for our son. We appreciate that the bar is set very high academically and socially for the scholars. But, specially, we appreciate that the wonderful teachers are there every step to ensure their scholars' success. (Ms. McDanel and Mrs. Whitehead are the BEST!) Everyone, from security guards to the Head Dean, greets each parent and scholar with a warm, personable, welcome. Communication lines are always open, so parents are always in the loop of how their scholar is doing. We can go on...but in short, we absolutely LOVE Empowerment!

So far my experience has been very positive. We did get off to a bumpy start at the beginning of the year but the administration and teacher were excellent when it came to communicating and correcting the issue that I had. Every time I send an email I get a response the same day. I love my daughters Kindergarten teacher and my daughter enjoys going to school every day. There is a lot of parental involvement; we have to sign reading logs every day, review homework, and review study guides with the child in preparation for the test on the material. My daughter’s teacher communicates with the parents daily through ClassDojo, I appreciate it because it lets parent’s know what the children are learning. So far so good. I will update my review at the end of the school year.

Update: 06.25.19 My daughter had an awesome Kindergarten experience. I am looking forward to another great year.

My daughter has gone here 3 years and now my son goes to Kindergarten. It's true that this school has rigorous academics, but I'm okay with high standards so long as the school commits to each child. And they have. My daughter struggled with reading in 1st grade. They offered her guided reading help before school at no charge for an entire month and now she's doing GREAT! :) I frequently email both my kids' teachers and express any concerns I have about homework or other issues that arise. They're super responsive and do whatever it takes to resolve my issues or answer my questions. Be prepared to be involved in your child's education or for sure, this school is not for you.

Best school

Best school in jersey city.

Im going to be a freshman at cp next year and i cant wait for my high school journey to start. Class of 22’ !!

Empowerment Academy Charter school is the greatest school of all I feel. My daughter learns so much, she has me speechless half of the times. She as well enjoys the school too she feels safe too, as for me and her dad we feel this school is safe for her as well. As far as staff and puplis, I love them all give them A+. They should always know the staff is always appreciated. Thank you all!

I can't say enough about this school. It was tailor-made for my son. He has grown so much because of it. The teachers, along with all the staff, really care about the students and work endlessly to make sure each and every child excel. It is just the right mix of education and fun, unlike other charter schools. We are very lucky to have found Empowerment Academy!

This school has been really good to my son, he is currently a Senior and will be graduating in 2018.

I want to know when do the letters come out

Empowerment Academy is the best! Truly caring, responsive faculty and instructors that are easily accessible. High emphasis on academics, personal responsibility and the development of the whole child through the focus of core qualities. The students are referred to as scholars and each class is named after a university - how wonderful!

My son attended PS#3, a mediocre school with a beautiful campus, for pre-K3, pre-K4, kindergarten and part of 1st grade before the transfer. He was very eager to leave that school mid term. Nothing bad to say about the school, its focus was more on fun than academics.

This parent highly recommends Empowerment.

I really like this school
and I would love to be in it
but sadly there's no more applications

This place is where a person could get there schooling in order with the help of teachers that care and want to get you somewhere in life with the certificates to prove you know your stuff.🔰🔰🔰🎒🎒📚📚📒📒📖📖📖📝📝📝📏📏📐📐💻💻💻🚪🚪🚪

good school I'm class of 88

im going there next year so i mean if people say its a good school then im pretty sure im going to love the school and have fun XD

Well I'm only a freshman but so far, i love it here at county prep.
It is a great high school, everyone is so friendly.