Bloomingdale Avenue School with 255 students in grades K-2
*Lourdes Murphy, Principal
Brookside Place School with 365 students in grades K-5
*Michael Klimko, Principal
Hillside Avenue School with 702 students in grades K-8
*Kevin Deacon, Principal
Livingston Avenue School with 251 students in grades 3-5
*Cari Lopez, Principal
Orange Avenue School with 738 students in grades 3-8
*Lori Lubieski-Hutmaker, Principal
Walnut Avenue School with 312 students in grades PreK-2
*Celine McNally, Principal
;High school
Cranford High School with 1,233 students in grades 9-12
*Mark Cantagallo, Principal
The system's high school was the 49th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology, after having been ranked 51st in the state out of 328 schools in 2012. Cranford High School has a curriculum which has a strong push for technology in the schools, along with stressing service learning. The high school is recognized for its work in service learning and for being a national school of character. Cranford High School students are regularly admitted to some of the nation's top private and public universities, with over 90% of each graduating class going onto college. Cranford has two public middle schools, Orange Avenue School and Hillside Avenue School, which are located on each end of the township and serve their local neighborhood. Both also are elementary schools as well. On the north side of Cranford, along with Orange Avenue, are two other elementary schools, Bloomingdale Avenue School and Brookside Place School. On the south side of the township, along with Hillside Avenue, are two other elementary schools, Walnut Avenue School and Livingston Avenue School. Lincoln School, which is the home of the district's administrative offices, also houses the district's two alternative education programs, CAP and CAMP.
The district's board of education, with nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the day-to-day operation of the district.
Robert Ferro, Cranford High School alumnus and author whose work included a gay coming-of-age novel describing a fictionalized version of Cranford centered around the Rahway River.