Bragg Elementary School is located in Chester, New Jersey, and is one of 2 elementary schools in the Chester Township School District. It is a public school that has grade 3-5, with approximately 500 students. The lower school, (Dickerson), is on the same premises as Bragg, however the school's only mix for certain events. Bragg has it's own staff andprinciple. Black River Middle School is about 5minutes away and is the school that many students go to after Dickerson and then Bragg.
Bragg made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2009. Under No Child Left Behind, a school makes AYP if it achieves the minimum levels of improvement determined by the state of New Jersey in terms of student performance and other accountability measures.
In 2006, Bragg had 13 students for every full-time equivalent teacher. The New Jersey average is 12 students per full-time equivalent teacher.
If you have family around Chester I would definitely advise you to stay with them, (I was lucky enough to stay with my aunt and uncle for free). However if you don't, Morristown (about 25mins away) has b+b's and also a better night life. Chester just has shops and a few restaurants. There are also places to stay in Mendham (15mins away).
If you can, hire a car or borrow one. Chester may be a town and everything seems in walking distance, however I thought that I was close to the shops as it took about 2 minutes in the car, decided to walk the dog and was gone for 2 hours! It was a mission! Especially with all the hills. Also, there are only buses for the school children, no local transport is provided unless you are on an organised trip somewhere.
If you can make it to Morristown, there are trains running to New York every 45mins in the weekdays and every 1hour and 5mins on weekends. If the train platform looks busy, don't worry, they have double-decker trains! Also remember to buy your ticket at the machines as they charge more on the train.
Chester is lovely, it just doesn't have a night scene apart from a few restaurants. In Morristown there is 'The Pub' and 'The Black Horse' which are both licenced to sell alcohol and are therefore very popular. There are also Irish bars in Morristown and very popular restaurants too. If you don't want to go that far, Mendham has a licenced pub and also a fish restaurant that has a licence for selling alcohol. It's very popular with young people. The is 'The Irish' in Mendham, it has a mini club inside and is very popular on Fridays and Saturdays.
Things to do, things not to do
Definitely get the train to New York - and take lots of money! New York is expensive....but it's worth every penny. If you only go to New York for a day or two, take the bus tours. It's a great way to see the whole of New York and see all the sights. Also the Empire State Building is great, just make sure it's a nice day to go up otherwise you won't see a thing.
If your over 21, go to Morristown in the evening. Its an amazing night out if your with people who know where to go and the cocktails are awsome! The people at the school are all so friendly and they may ask if you want to go out.
Daniel Johnson - Bragg School
250 Route 24
Chester
New Jersey
07930
Phone : (001) 908 8795324 (If calling whilst in America take away the 001).
- Buy your ESTA form, you can't get into America without it and it lasts 2years.
- Make sure you have smart clothing to wear at the school.
- Look up the New Jersey state laws as they are completely different to the UK's.
- Take your CRB just incase. I didn't need mine but i took it just to be safe.
- Take a note pad and pen, the school gives you so much information.
Costs
- Return flights to Newark International from Birmingham cost around £345-£390 in March. I flew with Continental Airlines, which is an American airline, and got them through NetFlights.
- The journey from Newark to Chester is approx 40mins. I got a lift from the airport with my family, however taxi's can be cheap if you book in advance. They are called Limo services in America and you usually get a order number whilst booking. The limo services are quite cheap.
- If i were you, i would walk to the placement. Luckily the school was only a couple of minute walk from the house through a forest, (it is pathed). The school is in a Central location so it is easy to get to. However, if you have a car there is free parking on site. If not, many teachers ask if you would like lifts to and from school.
- The train to New York is $26 return and you can use it at any time of the day. Sight seeing is a reasonable price, however there is a lot to see, especially in New York so i would take a couple of hundred dollars, especially if your eating there. There are clothes outlets near to Chester so you can get clothes at a cheaper price....worth a visit.
- Food in America is all reasonably priced, and the majority of food is cheaper than England. Restaurants are well priced too, and you get a large portion of everything. I took a couple of hundred pound to last me for 3weeks for food, i had some left over.
- Your ESTA form to get into America costs about £14. Some websites charge $54...this is a rip off. If you go onto the American Embassy website there are links on there, however many airlines have a section on their website.
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