Princeton Charter School
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Princeton Charter School is a charter school in Princeton Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The school is the only public school in either Princeton Township, New Jersey or the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey which is not operated by the Princeton Regional Schools district.
The school is one of over fifty schools opened under charters granted since 1997 by the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education. These schools operate independently of local Boards of Education, being funded on a per student basis by locally-raised tax revenues. It is accredited by the American Academy for Liberal Education.
During the 2004-05 school year, Princeton Charter School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.[1]
Admission is determined by lottery (except where a sibling is previously enrolled) open to all students from the district. The headmaster since the school opened, Charles Marsee, retired after the 2007-08 school year. The new principal for 2008-09 is Broderick L. Boxley, from Joyce Kilmer Elementary School in Cherry Hill.
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[edit] Overview highlights
Students are separated into two buildings. Grades K-4 are in the lower and newer building, while grades 5-8 are in the upper building. Art classes and the library are located in the lower building, which was rebuilt and completed in 2004 after it burned down during construction. A third building including an auditorium, a gym, an art room, a music room, and a classroom is currently under construction and is expected to be complete sometime in late 2010, 2 years later than scheduled. The school has approximately 340 students.
[edit] Curriculum Highlights
Academics is very important to the school. The school is a Blue Ribbon school and has been rated one of the best charter schools and public schools in the nation. Normally, the school is ahead of the regional school district in their curriculum by 1 year: e.g. In 8th grade, you can take geometry. Every year the students take 2 standardized tests, the NJ ASK (used in public schools) and the ERBs (used in private schools). During the 2007-2008 school year, its 8th grade was ranked 1st in the state for the science curriculum. Students taking either Advanced French or Beginner French may participate in "Le Grand Concours", a French knowledge contest, every year. They usually play in the top ten in state and national with 1 or 2 national winners. As of 2009, students taking Spanish take the National Spanish Exam. The foreign language programs, especially Advanced French, are normally a year or two ahead of the regional schools.
[edit] Athletics
Fall athletics are soccer (co-ed), field hockey (girls*), and cross country (co-ed). Winter sports are limited to basketball (boys and girls), and spring sports are limited to lacrosse (boys and girls), although a co-ed softball team may be opened next spring, for the 2009 spring sports had already started. The school colors are red and black, used for the 'field day' activities, and the school mascot is a hawk.
- Field hockey is normally an all girls sport, but during the 2008-2009 school year, an 8th grade boy did play.
[edit] Notable People
A child of the famous artist Gennady Spirin
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Princeton Charter School Main Website or
- Princeton Charter School Alternative Website
- 2003-04 School Report for Princeton Charter School
- Princeton Charter School's 2007-08 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
- National Center for Education Statistics data for Princeton Charter School. 2004-2005 enrollment was 280 students, from Kindergarten through Grade Eight. Demographic breakdown was 190 white (67.8%), 51 Asian (18%), 24 Black (8%) and 15 Hispanic (5%).
