Princeton Public Schools

Princeton Public Schools (PPS) is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Princeton, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States.[3] Students from Cranbury Township attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[4] The district administration building is at 25 Valley Road in Princeton.

For the school district in Ohio, see Princeton City Schools. For the school district in Wisconsin, see Princeton School District.

Princeton Public Schools
Address
25 Valley Road
Princeton
, Mercer County, New Jersey, 08540
United States
Coordinates40.361361°N 74.663579°W / 40.361361; -74.663579
District information
GradesPreK-12
SuperintendentDr. Carol Kelley
Business administratorMatthew Bouldin
Schools6
Students and staff
Enrollment3,740 (as of 2020–21)[1]
Faculty341.0 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio11.0:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupI
Websitewww.princetonk12.org
Ind.Per pupilDistrict
spending		Rank
(*)		K-12
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$23,80366$18,89126.0%
1Budgetary Cost18,6886514,78326.4%
2Classroom Instruction11,304678,76329.0%
6Support Services3,340632,39239.6%
8Administrative Cost1,629491,4859.7%
10Operations & Maintenance1,920561,7837.7%
13Extracurricular Activities4484826867.2%
16Median Teacher Salary76,6716664,043
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-12 districts with 1,800-3,500 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=68

As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprised of six schools, had an enrollment of 3,740 students and 341.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "I", the second-highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[5]

Residents of Princeton University's housing complexes for graduate students with families, Butler Apartments,[6] Lawrence Apartments,[7] and Stanworth Apartments,[8] are zoned to the district.[9]

History

The district's high school was constructed in 1927 and the middle school in 1965. The four elementary schools were completed from 1957 to 1962.[10]

Awards, recognition, and rankings

Niche ranked Princeton Public Schools as the 16th best school district in America and the best school district in New Jersey in its "2021 Best School Districts" rankings.[11]

Littlebrook School was one of nine public schools recognized in 2017 as Blue Ribbon Schools by the United States Department of Education.[12]

In 2000-01, the district was recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education with the Best Practices award for its Jefferson Debates Citizenship / Character Education program for students in Grades 6-8.[13]

Schools
Princeton High School

Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[14]) are:[15][16][17][18][19]

Elementary Schools
  • Community Park School[20] with 332 students in grades K-5
    • Dineen Gruchacz, principal[21]
  • Johnson Park School[22] with 329 students in grades PreK-5
    • Angela Siso Stentz, principal[23]
  • Littlebrook School[24] with 342 students in grades K-5
    • Luis Ramirez, principal[25]
  • Riverside School[26] with 289 students in grades PreK-5
    • Nancy Whalen, principal[27]
Middle School
  • Princeton Middle School[28] with 803 students in grades 6-8
    • Jason Burr, principal[29]
High School

Former, renamed and converted schools
  • Witherspoon Street School for Colored Children, educated the African-American students of Princeton from 1858 until desegregation in 1948.
  • Valley Road School educated children in Princeton Township from 1918 until 1980 when it was converted to offices. It was the first school constructed in the former Princeton Township by the regional district and became the district's first integrated elementary school in 1948.[33]
  • John Witherspoon Middle School was the former name of Princeton Middle School from its construction in 1966 to 2020. The name was changed on June 15, 2020, with a vote of 8-1[34] from the Princeton Public Schools School Board following the George Floyd protests, due to the school's namesake being a slave owner. The school was renamed Princeton Middle School in 2021 after temporarily being named Princeton Unified Middle School for the 2020-2021 school year.[35]

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:[36]

  • Dr. Carol Kelley, superintendent[37]
  • Matthew Bouldin, business administrator and board secretary[38]

Board of education

The district's board of education, comprised of 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 (since 2013) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district.[39][40] A tenth represented is appointed by the Cranbury district to represent its interests on the Princeton Board of Education.[3]

References
  1. District information for Princeton Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 15, 2022.
  2. Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. District Policy 9110 - Number of Members and Term of Office, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed September 3, 2020. "The Princeton Public Schools District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of the Municipality of Princeton and receives high school students from the Cranbury Public School District.... The Princeton Board of Education shall consist of ten members, nine of which are elected for three year terms and one from the Cranbury Board of Education."
  4. Princeton Public Schools 2016 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed August 2, 2017. "As we strive to serve the more than 3700 students from the Princeton and Cranbury communities, we do so knowing that our work with them in the classroom, on the athletic field, and on the stage matters deeply to each one and to the larger society into which they will graduate."
  5. NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 18, 2005.
  6. Campus Map Butler Apartments, Princeton University. Accessed February 10, 2012.
  7. Campus Map Lawrence Apartments, Princeton University. Accessed February 10, 2012.
  8. Campus Map Stanworth Apartments, Princeton University. Accessed February 10, 2012.
  9. Residency Manual." (Archive) Princeton Public Schools. Accessed February 10, 2012.
  10. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the Princeton Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2019. Accessed June 1, 2020. "The district is comprised of six schools. There is one high school originally built in 1927 and since has had multiple additions with the most recent completed in 2005. There is one middle school currently serving grades six through eight built in 1965 and four neighborhood elementary schools. Two elementary schools were built in 1959 while one was built in 1957 and the newest school was built in 1962."
  11. "2021 Princeton Public Schools Rankings". Niche. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  12. "Nine New Jersey Public Schools Earn National Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education", New Jersey Department of Education, September 28, 2017. Accessed October 18, 2017.
  13. New Jersey Best Practices Award recipient 2000-01, accessed December 6, 2007
  14. School Data for the Princeton Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.
  15. Schools Menu, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed November 29, 2019.
  16. Who We Are, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022. "Elementary Schools (Grades K-5): Community Park, Johnson Park, Littlebrook, and Riverside.... Middle School (Grades 6-8): Princeton Middle School... High School (Grades 9-12): Princeton High School"
  17. 2021-2022 Mercer County Charter and Public Schools Directory, Mercer County, New Jersey. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  18. School Performance Reports for the Princeton Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 1, 2022.
  19. New Jersey School Directory for the Princeton Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  20. Community Park Elementary School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  21. Our School, Community Park Elementary School. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  22. Johnson Park Elementary School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  23. Our School, Johnson Park Elementary School. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  24. Littlebrook Elementary School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  25. Our School, Littlebrook Elementary School. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  26. Riverside Elementary School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  27. Our School, Riverside School. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  28. Princeton Middle School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  29. Our School, Princeton Middle School. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  30. Princeton High School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  31. Administration, Princeton High School. Accessed September 20, 2023.
  32. Rein, Richard (August 30, 2023). "New Principal Cecilia Xie Birge Brings a Diverse Background to Princeton High School". Princeton TapInto. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  33. Valley Road School Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Preservation New Jersey. Accessed November 25, 2015. "When it opened in 1918, the school became the first regional school in Princeton Township, and in 1948 it became the first integrated elementary school in Princeton (the high school had been integrated since 1915)."
  34. "Simple Wins Out: Princeton Middle School Is New Name". TAPinto. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  35. Writer, LEA KAHN, Staff (June 17, 2021). "New name chosen for Princeton school, but debate ensues". centraljersey.com. Retrieved September 26, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  36. New Jersey School Directory for Mercer County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 29, 2016.
  37. Message from the Superintendent, Princeton Public Schools, November 9, 2022. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  38. Business Office, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022.
  39. New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election, New Jersey Department of Education, updated February 16, 2018. Accessed January 26, 2020.
  40. Board members, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed September 3, 2020.
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