Cranbury School District

Cranbury School District is a public school district located in and serving students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Cranbury, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[3][4][5]

Cranbury School District
Address
23 North Main Street
, Middlesex County, New Jersey, 08512
United States
Coordinates40°18′43″N 74°31′08″W / 40.3120°N 74.5188°W / 40.3120; -74.5188
District information
GradesPreK to 8
SuperintendentJennifer K. Diszler
Business administratorKarin Weiner
Schools1
Students and staff
Enrollment453 (as of 2022–23)[1]
Faculty59.1 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio7.7:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupJ
Websitewww.cranburyschool.org
Ind. Per pupil District
spending
Rank
(*)
K-8
average
%± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$21,86656$18,89115.7%
1Budgetary Cost17,4605714,15923.3%
2Classroom Instruction10,495578,65921.2%
6Support Services2,544472,16717.4%
8Administrative Cost1,695331,5479.6%
10Operations & Maintenance2,352621,61245.9%
13Extracurricular Activities34864104234.6%
16Median Teacher Salary57,2001961,136
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-8 districts with 401-750 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=64

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of one school, had an enrollment of 453 students and 59.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 7.7:1.[1]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "J", the 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.[6]

For ninth through twelfth grades, public school students move on to Princeton High School, located in Princeton, as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Princeton Public Schools.[7][8][9][10] Cranbury Township is granted a seat on the Princeton Regional Schools board of education, with the designated representative restricted to voting on issues pertaining to Princeton High School and district-wide issues.[11] As of the 2022–23 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,532 students and 130.2 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1.[12]

History

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Old Cranbury School
 
Old Cranbury School, now the Town Hall
 
 
 
 
 
 
Location23 N. Main Street, Cranbury, New Jersey
Coordinates40°18′42″N 74°31′02″W / 40.31167°N 74.51722°W / 40.31167; -74.51722 (Old Cranbury School)
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1897
NRHP reference No.71000508[13]
NJRHP No.1832[14]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 21, 1971
Designated NJRHPMay 6, 1971

Originally two public schools, the Bunker Hill School and the South Cranbury School, were established in 1850. On May 25, 1896, voters approved the construction of a consolidated grade school that would replace the Bunker Hill School and the South Cranbury School.[15] Construction on the school began in August 1896 and ended in January 1897. The school opened on January 25, 1897, with a population of 159 students. The school was dedicated on February 22, 1897. The Cranbury School had three departments: primary, grammar, and high school.[15]

Cranbury Neck School closed in 1903, and the students who attended Cranbury Neck attended Cranbury School after their school closed. In 1906, a south wing with two classrooms was added to the Cranbury School building.[15]

Wyckoff Mills School closed in 1910, and the students also attended Cranbury School after their school closed.[15]

In 1922, a North wing was added to the Cranbury School building, bringing enrollment to 200 students.[15]

In 1924, the Cranbury Library moved into the Cranbury School building[16] The Cranbury Public Library moved into a temporary building outside of the school in 2020.[17]

The school building received additions in 1949, 1957, and 1967.

The Old Cranbury School was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 21, 1971 for its significance in architecture and education. It is a two story brick building and features a cupola with the school bell and a clock facing Main Street.[18]

In 1969, a new school replaced the old facility. The new facility received an addition in 1997. On October 14, 2001, the old school building was rededicated as Cranbury Township's town hall.[15] The old school building also houses the Cranbury Township Board of education offices and the Gourgaud Gallery, an art gallery.[19]

Cranbury students had attended Hightstown High School and then Lawrence High School before the relationship was established with Princeton.[20]

Awards and recognition

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For the 1996–97 school year, Cranbury School was formally designated as a National Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor that an American public school can achieve.[21] During the 2009–10 school year, Cranbury School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence a second time.[22] The school was recognized again in 2016–17.[23]

School

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Cranbury School had an enrollment of 447 students in grades PreK-8 as of the 2022–23 school year.[24]

  • Jennifer K. Diszler, principal[25]

Administration

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Core members of the district's administration are:[25][26]

  • Jennifer K. Diszler, chief school administrator[27][28]
  • Karin Weiner, business administrator and board secretary

Board of education

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The district's board of education is comprised of nine members who set policy and oversee 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 2014) 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.[29][30][31]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d District information for Cranbury Township School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. ^ Cranbury Township Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Cranbury School District. Accessed September 23, 2024. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades K through 8 in the Cranbury School District. Composition: The Cranbury School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Cranbury Township."
  4. ^ School Performance Reports for the Cranbury Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.
  5. ^ New Jersey School Directory for the Cranbury School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  6. ^ NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed July 7, 2014.
  7. ^ Cheslow, Jerry. "Historic, Sparsely Settled -- and Loving It", The New York Times, March 16, 1997. Accessed July 14, 2011. "Cranbury pays tuition to send 106 high school students to nearby Princeton High School. According to Cranbury's Chief School Administrator, Robert J. Bartoletti, 87 percent of the town's youngsters go on to higher education.... As part of the addition, the 28,000-volume Cranbury Public Library, which shares space with the school library, is also being expanded to 6,000 square feet from 4,000 and the school's computers are to be enhanced through the networking of all of the classrooms into the library."
  8. ^ Princeton Public Schools 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 1, 2016. "As we strive to serve the more than 3500 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."
  9. ^ Capuzzo, Jill P. "Cranbury, N.J.: One Town, Many Personalities", The New York Times, February 25, 2014. Accessed November 2, 2014. "About 545 students in prekindergarten through Grade 8 attend Cranbury School, which has twice been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. For grades 9 to 12, they move on to Princeton High School, where there are 1,445 students."
  10. ^ Staff. "Cranbury trims 23 jobs in wake of aid reduction", The Times, March 25, 2010. Accessed November 2, 2014. "Cranbury public schools serve about 600 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The district’s high school students attend Princeton High School."
  11. ^ Board of Education Members Archived 2014-11-03 at the Wayback Machine, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed November 2, 2014.
  12. ^ School data for Princeton High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  13. ^ "National Register Information System – (#71000508)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  14. ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Middlesex County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. September 28, 2021. p. 1.
  15. ^ a b c d e f History of Town Hall Building 1896 – 2001, Cranbury Township. Accessed January 14, 2012.
  16. ^ Cranbury Schools and Library Archived 2006-06-14 at the Wayback Machine, Cranbury.org. Accessed July 14, 2011.
  17. ^ Harrison, Rew; Writer, Staff (July 17, 2020). "Cranbury Public Library will have to find a new home by Aug. 15". centraljersey.com. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  18. ^ Wright, Norman H. (March 1971). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Old Cranbury School". National Park Service. With accompanying photo
  19. ^ Gourgaud Gallery, Cranbury Township. Accessed July 16, 2006.
  20. ^ Kilby, David. "Cranbury: HHS alumni recalls how school used to be", CentralJersey.com, June 24, 2011. Accessed October 3, 2017. "Cranbury stopped sending its students to HHS in 1965, then it began sending its students to Hightstown-East Windsor High School. Cranbury students soon would go to Lawrence High School, then to Princeton High School, which is where they go today."
  21. ^ National Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982 Through 2019 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed September 1, 2024.
  22. ^ 2009 Blue Ribbon Schools: All Public and Private Schools, United States Department of Education, p. 13. Accessed July 15, 2011.
  23. ^ 2016 National Blue Ribbon Schools All Public and Non‐Public, National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Accessed November 13, 2016.
  24. ^ School Data for Cranbury School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  25. ^ a b Problem-Solving Contact List, Cranbury School. Accessed March 29, 2022.
  26. ^ New Jersey School Directory for Middlesex County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
  27. ^ About Us, Cranbury School District. Accessed September 23, 2024.
  28. ^ Cranbury Board of Education Selects Experienced Educator to Lead District into Promising Future, Cranbury School District. Accessed February 28, 2023.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Cranbury Township School District, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2023. Accessed April 9, 2024. "The Cranbury Township School District ('School District') is a Type II district located in the County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey. As a Type II district, the School District functions independently through a Board of Education. The Board of Education is comprised of nine members elected to three-year terms. These terms are staggered so that three member's terms expire each year. The purpose of the School District is to provide educational services for resident students in grades K through 8. Students in grades 9 through 12 attend on a tuition basis, the Princeton Regional High School District."
  31. ^ Board of Education, Cranbury School District. Accessed September 23, 2024. "Cranbury Township School District has a nine member Board of Education. Members of the Board are elected for a three year term."
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