Princeton Public Schools Explained
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, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[1] Students from Cranbury Township attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.[2] The district administration building is at 25 Valley Road in Princeton.
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.[3]
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.[4]
Residents of Princeton University's housing complexes for graduate students with families, Butler Apartments,[5] Lawrence Apartments,[6] and Stanworth Apartments,[7] are zoned to the district.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10]
Littlebrook School was one of nine public schools recognized in 2017 as Blue Ribbon Schools by the United States Department of Education.[11]
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.[12]
Schools
Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[13]) are:[14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
- Elementary Schools
- Community Park School[19] with 332 students in grades K-5
- Dineen Gruchacz, principal[20]
- Johnson Park School[21] with 329 students in grades PreK-5
- Angela Siso Stentz, principal[22]
- Littlebrook School[23] with 342 students in grades K-5
- Luis Ramirez, principal[24]
- Riverside School[25] with 289 students in grades PreK-5
- Nancy Whalen, principal[26]
- Middle School
- Princeton Middle School[27] with 803 students in grades 6-8
- Jason Burr, principal[28]
- 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.[32]
- 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[33] 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.[34]
Administration
Core members of the district's administration are:[35]
- Kathie Foster, interim superintendent. Foster will replace Carol Kelley, who left the position in October 2023.[36]
- Matthew Bouldin, business administrator and board secretary[37]
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.[38] [39] A tenth represented is appointed by the Cranbury district to represent its interests on the Princeton Board of Education.[1]
External links
Notes and References
- https://www.boarddocs.com/nj/pps/Board.nsf/files/AW7Q2L63D8DA/$file/9110%20Number%20of%20Members%20and%20Term%20of%20Office%202-1-18.pdf District Policy 9110 - Number of Members and Term of Office
- https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/1516/21/4255/000.html Princeton Public Schools 2016 Report Card Narrative
- https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3413410&DistrictID=3413410 District information for Princeton Public Schools
- http://www.state.nj.us/education/finance/rda/dfg.shtml NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts
- http://etcweb.princeton.edu/pumap/#5066 Campus Map Butler Apartments
- http://etcweb.princeton.edu/pumap/#288 Campus Map Lawrence Apartments
- http://etcweb.princeton.edu/pumap/#5063 Campus Map Stanworth Apartments
- http://www.prs.k12.nj.us/studentservices/Residency_Manual.pdf Residency Manual
- https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/acfr/search/22/4255.pdff#page=9 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Princeton Public Schools
- Web site: 2021 Princeton Public Schools Rankings. 2021-02-21. Niche. en.
- http://www.nj.gov/education/news/2017/0928brs.htm "Nine New Jersey Public Schools Earn National Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education"
- http://www.nj.gov/cgi-bin/education/oipp/bp3.pl?string=recid=0191&maxhits=10000 New Jersey Best Practices Award recipient 2000-01
- https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3413410 School Data for the Princeton Public Schools
- https://www.princetonk12.org/schools Schools Menu
- https://www.princetonk12.org/district/about-us Who We Are
- https://www.mercercounty.org/home/showpublisheddocument/19752/637756867571870000#page=26 2021-2022 Mercer County Charter and Public Schools Directory
- https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/21/4255 School Performance Reports for the Princeton Public School District
- https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/4255 New Jersey School Directory for the Princeton Public Schools
- https://www.princetonk12.org/community-park-elementary Community Park Elementary School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/community-park-elementary/our-school/school-profile Our School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/johnson-park-elementary-home Johnson Park Elementary School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/johnson-park-elementary-home/our-school/school-profile Our School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/littlebrook-elementary-home Littlebrook Elementary School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/littlebrook-elementary-home/our-school/school-profile Our School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/riverside-elementary-home Riverside Elementary School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/riverside-elementary-home/our-school/school-profile Our School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/princeton-middle-school Princeton Middle School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/princeton-middle-school/our-school/our-school Our School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/princeton-high-school Princeton High School
- https://www.princetonk12.org/princeton-high-school/phs/administration Administration
- Web site: Richard . Rein . New Principal Cecilia Xie Birge Brings a Diverse Background to Princeton High School . Princeton TapInto . August 30, 2023 . September 20, 2023.
- http://www.preservationnj.org/site/ExpEng/index.php?/ten_most_13/index_detail/Valley_Road_School Valley Road School
- Web site: Simple Wins Out: Princeton Middle School Is New Name . 2022-12-16 . TAPinto . en.
- Web site: Writer . LEA KAHN, Staff . 2021-06-17 . New name chosen for Princeton school, but debate ensues . 2022-09-26 . centraljersey.com . en-US.
- https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/district/county/mercer New Jersey School Directory for Mercer County
- Rein, Richard K. "For the Third Time, Kathie Foster Plays an Interim Role in Princeton -- This Time as Superintendent", TAPinto Princeton, November 13, 2023. Accessed November 13, 2023. "Just last June Kathie Foster seemed to be presiding over her last in-person appearance at the Princeton Public Schools – as the interim high school principal greeting the Class of 2023 as it graduated after a tumultuous senior year.... But now Foster is back for an encore in another interim role, as interim superintendent following Superintendent Carol Kelley’s own resignation, effective in August of next year but with a leave of absence effective that began immediately after the announcement on October 27."
- https://www.princetonk12.org/offices/business Business Office
- https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/dwb/DistrictByTypeList2018.pdf New Jersey Boards of Education by District Election Types - 2018 School Election
- https://www.princetonk12.org/board/members Board members
