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