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.District Policy 9110 - Number of Members and Term of Office, Princeton Public Schools, revised June 17, 2014. Accessed September 21, 2025. "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." Students from Cranbury Township attend the district's high school as part of a sending/receiving relationship.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." The district administration building is at 25 Valley Road in Princeton.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the district, comprising six schools, had an enrollment of 3,827 students and 353.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.83:1.District information for Princeton Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 27, 2025.
Residents of Princeton University's housing complexes for graduate students with families, Lawrence ApartmentsCampus Map Lawrence Apartments, Princeton University. Accessed February 10, 2012. and Stanworth Apartments,Campus Map Stanworth Apartments, Princeton University. Accessed February 10, 2012. are zoned to the district.Residency Manual." (Archive) Princeton Public Schools. Accessed February 10, 2012.
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.Annual Comprehensive Financial Report of the Princeton Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education, for year ending June 30, 2022. Accessed November 13, 2023. "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."
The district was known as the Princeton Regional School District until July 2012, when the Princeton Public Schools name went into effect. The board changed the name in a February 2012 vote, in which the end of regionalization due to the consolidation of the independent borough and township (Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township) into a single municipality in January 2013 was cited as the reason behind the name change.Cuyler, Greta. "District to be Renamed Princeton Public Schools The name change will take effect July 1, following the board's 5-4 vote on Tuesday.", Princeton, NJ Patch, February 8, 2012. Accessed September 24, 2024. "Effective July 1, the school district will officially be renamed Princeton Public Schools. By a 5-4 vote, the Board of Education on Tuesday approved the renaming of the Princeton Regional School District. Why? Once Princeton Borough and Princeton Township consolidate on Jan. 1, 2013, Princeton will no longer qualify as a regional school district, and is required by law to change its name, Superintendent Judy Wilson said."School District Reference Map (2010 Census): Mercer County, NJ, United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 24, 2024.
The district had been 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.District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 1, 2024.
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.Valley Road School , 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)." 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 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.
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.
Littlebrook School was one of nine public schools recognized in 2017 as Blue Ribbon Schools by the United States Department of Education."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.
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.New Jersey Best Practices Award recipient 2000-01, accessed December 6, 2007
Schools
Schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education StatisticsSchool Data for the Princeton Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 1, 2019.) are:Schools Menu, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed November 29, 2019.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"2021-2022 Mercer County Charter and Public Schools Directory, Mercer County, New Jersey. Accessed December 17, 2022.School Performance Reports for the Princeton Public School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 3, 2024.New Jersey School Directory for the Princeton Public Schools, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
Elementary Schools Community Park SchoolCommunity Park Elementary School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022. with 332 students in grades K-5 Dineen Gruchacz, principalOur School, Community Park Elementary School. Accessed December 17, 2022. Johnson Park SchoolJohnson Park Elementary School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022. with 329 students in grades PreK-5 Stacy Young, principalOur School, Johnson Park Elementary School. Accessed September 21, 2025. Littlebrook SchoolLittlebrook Elementary School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022. with 342 students in grades K-5 Luis Ramirez, principalOur School, Littlebrook Elementary School. Accessed December 17, 2022. Riverside SchoolRiverside Elementary School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022. with 289 students in grades PreK-5 Max Actau, principalOur School, Riverside School. Accessed December 17, 2022. Middle School Princeton Middle SchoolPrinceton Middle School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022. with 803 students in grades 6-8 Jason Burr, principalOur School, Princeton Middle School. Accessed December 17, 2022. High School Princeton High SchoolPrinceton High School, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed December 17, 2022.Administration, Princeton High School. Accessed September 20, 2023. with 1,555 students in grades 9-12 Cecilia Birge, principalAdministration, Princeton High School. AccessedSeptember 21, 2025.
Administration Core members of the district's administration are:District Directory, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed September 21, 2025.New Jersey School Directory for Mercer County, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024. Michael LaSusa, superintendent Andrew Harris, business administrator and board secretaryBusiness Office, Princeton Public Schools. Accessed September 21, 2025.
After a unanimous vote from the Board of Education in January 2025, LaSusa started as Superintendent on July 1, 2025 after previously working in the School District of the Chathams for 24 years. Starting there in 2001 as a teacher, he eventually became Superintendent, serving for 13 years. Dr. Kathie Foster was the interim superintendent in Princeton from November 2023 to June 2025 after the resignation of Dr. Carol Kelley, who left the position in October 2023.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."
Board of education