BERNARDS TWP. – In the latest sign of the township’s changing demographics, the number of students of Asian descent has surpassed the number of white students at one of the public elementary schools.
The graded K-5 Mount Prospect School on Hansom Road in The Hills development, which began the current school year with 685 students in grades K-5, is now 49.1 percent Asian, 44.5 percent white, 5.5 percent Hispanic and 0.7 percent black, according to a report by Township Demographer William Draper.
The report used actual school district numbers and township information on households.
A year ago, Mount Prospect, which serves the 1,886 homes in The Hills, was 50.3 percent white and 45.1 percent Asian; six years ago, in the fall of 2007, it was 55.8 percent white and 41.3 percent Asian, Draper’s report said.
The township’s Asian population is largely concentrated in The Hills, a development built in the last 20 years or so, Draper said in an interview.
In the total grade grades K-12 school system, which began the school year with 5,749 students, the breakdown was 71.8 percent white, 22.8 percent Asian, 4.5 percent Hispanic, and 0.9 percent black.
In the 1990 U.S. Census, the Asian population in the township was just 3.1 percent.
As with Mount Prospect, the proportion of Asians in the township’s three other grade K-5 elementary schools has also grown in the last six years, Draper’s report said.
They include: Liberty Corner School on Church Street, 20.7 percent, up from 9.9 percent in 2007; Cedar Hill School on Peachtree Road, 18.0 percent, up from 10.1 percent; and Oak Street School on West Henry Street, 7.8 percent, up from 3.4 percent.
At William Annin Middle School, which houses grades 6-8, the Asian total is 23.5 percent, up from 14.5 percent in 2007; and at Ridge High School, which houses grades 9-12, it is 24.7 percent, up from 13.5 percent.
Asians include students from the Orient, India and surrounding nations. The 2000 U.S. Census said that among township Asians, 41 percent were Chinese, 36 percent were Indian and 9 percent were Japanese.
No such breakdown was available from the 2010 U.S. Census. But Draper said he believes there have been more Indian than Chinese newcomers in recent years.
His report noted that 45 foreign languages are the principal language spoken in township public school system (PSS) homes. They include 13 Indian languages in 3.6 percent of PSS homes, and four Chinese languages in 3.0 percent of PSS homes.
The growing Asian presence is not always apparent from municipal meetings or town events like Charter Day or the Memorial Day parade, which Mayor Carolyn Gaziano readily acknowledged.
“I don’t see it so much in municipal activities – where you see it is really in the schools,” Gaziano said. She said she knew from personal experience that parents of Asian origin are very active in the forensics and fencing teams, as well as the local Cub Scout troops.
As for why there hasn’t been more involvement in municipal matters, “I think the language component is probably the biggest factor,” the mayor said.
Hispanic Growth
Also rising in recent years is the Hispanic population in the township schools.
According to Draper’s report, the current Hispanic total of 4.5 percent is up from 2.2 percent in 2007. In terms of total grade K-12 Hispanic students, the number has risen from 122 six years ago to 260.
Unlike the Asian population, Hispanic students are spread more evenly among four grade K-5 schools.
The proportions include: Mount Prospect, 5.5 percent; Liberty Corner, 6.4 percent; Cedar Hill, 4.3 percent; and Oak Street, 5.5 percent.
At William Annin, the Hispanic total is 4.3 percent; at Ridge High, 3.5 percent.
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