The Borough of Madison (population 16,530) is a suburban community 25 miles west of New York City and three miles southeast of Morristown, New Jersey. Madison is primarily a middle class community with substantial tax support and extensive community involvement in school affairs.

Central Avenue School is one of three elementary schools in the Madison School District. Serving students in grades Pre-K through 5, we provide basic education, enrichment opportunities and special needs programs. We have approximately 500 students and are a Title I school.

Some of the academic programs students take part in our Math in Focus, Reading and Writing Workshop, TCI Social Studies and Science, and the specials include; Library, Computers, STEAM, Art, Physical Education, and Music. Students in grades four and five can take part in chorus, orchestra, and band. In addition, CAS offers after school enrichment classes through our Parent-Teacher Organization.

Cooperation and character traits are the hallmarks of Central Avenue School. Cooperative learning strategies are used in every classroom every day. Children are taught to work together to solve problems in all subject areas. They learn the value of learning from their peers and teachers and sharing their expertise. Students also see teachers working together as teams to provide team-teaching experiences. Content area specialists, related arts teachers and classroom teachers often form cooperative groups to provide exciting learning opportunities in the regular classrooms, on the stage, in the music room and art rooms and on the playing fields. Students embody character traits, which include respect, gratitude, responsibility, kindness, and acceptance and the vision statement, "Building a kinder, brighter future for all".

Central Avenue received two awards by No Place for Hate and Safe Routes to School for their various programs. Parents are also an important part of the cooperative atmosphere at Central Avenue School. Every day, parents enter the school to provide support to classroom teachers, the media center, the art teacher, the cafeteria, and the office. Class parents and other volunteers help chaperone trips and provide needed support during class parties and special classroom events. A very active and supportive PTO provides funding for special projects and orchestrates several activities such as the International Day Celebration, School Garden, STEAM Program, Spring Carnival, School Play, Family Fun Nights and school beautification and playground projects.

Central Avenue School provides children with a safe, warm and inviting environment where students, staff members, and parents enjoy their time there as they all learn together.

There are over one hundred faculty members and six either part-time or shared teachers. The faculty-student ratio is approximately 12:1. We are able to achieve high honors through the hard work and dedication of our staff. Our full-time staff includes five ABA teachers, resource room teachers, special education teachers, three full-time case managers, three speech pathologists, a full-time behaviorist, three full-time occupational therapists, a librarian, a nurse, two physical education teachers, a guidance counselor, three reading and math specialists, a STEAM teacher, art teacher, an English Language Learners Teacher, and vocal and instrumental music teachers. In addition, we have over twenty full-time instructional aides.

Our curriculum is developed in conjunction with the NJ State Student Learning Standards. Teachers implement a reading and writing workshop, Math in Focus and TCI Social Studies and Science Program. In addition, these programs are supported by School-Wide Fundamentals, ST Math, Fundations, and many other resources. Teachers receive ongoing professional development throughout the school year on each program.