How are the public schools in Cranbury?
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GuestE
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PostPosted: Fri, Jul 25 2014, 2:32 pm EDT    Post subject: How are the public schools in Cranbury? Reply with quote

I am new to the area. Curious about preschools, elementary schools?
Thank you
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anon-5npq
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PostPosted: Fri, Jul 25 2014, 5:41 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: How are the public schools in Cranbury? Reply with quote

Welcome. The schools are all excellent. Our daughter went to CPNS and son will be going there. The teachers are all very good and they have optional enrichment programs.

Cranbury Elementary is great as well. The teachers are very dedicated and informative so you know how your child is developing.
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anon-97on
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PostPosted: Fri, Jul 25 2014, 7:14 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: How are the public schools in Cranbury? Reply with quote

GuestE wrote:
I am new to the area. Curious about preschools, elementary schools?
Thank you


Welcome to Cranbury. It's a very special place.

The quality of the public school is why many families move to Cranbury in the first place. They have won Blue Ribbon status multiple times. But also the fact that so many families prioritized the school enough to move here for it means lots of parental involvement and a strong sense of a family-oriented community. And because we're such a small town, the entire grade of any given class year is small -- anywhere from 40-80 kids depending on the year with most in the middle. That means the kids end up knowing all of their peers by the first or second grade. Similarly, the staff and faculty really get to know the kids, pretty much every one of them. The environment is very nurturing and supportive.

Cranbury is a single K-8 school, so there is no separate middle school. Personally this is one of the reasons we moved here versus Princeton and it has worked out as well as we hoped. By having the same school environment, administrators, specials teachers, etc., middle school is a very comfortable transition for the kids. They are the leaders and mentors rather than having to adjust to a whole new environment right at a time that their bodies and minds are going through their most rapid changes. Research has demonstrated this is a great approach for the kids. And the extra benefit of this is the elementary kids get to start on specials as early at K and 1st grade, including foreign language, art, computers, industrial arts and gym all from the same teachers in the same facilities as the middle schoolers.

Honestly, I love our school. I turned down good job opportunities because I didn't want to relocate because of the town and school. But in the interest of balance, there are a few trade-offs:

1) Because the school is relatively small, they had to make decisions about what programs to focus on rather than doing everything. Their primary "special" focus is music and choir and they have excellent, award-winning programs for those. The middle school the kids have no "electives," only pre-defined non-academic course they must take because the school doesn't have enough students or teachers to handle optional electives. In 8th grade they can chose between Choir or Music Appreciation and that's about the only choice they get other than picking between Spanish and French at some point in their entire K-8 curriculum. Similarly, there is a token G&T program but not as developed as at some larger schools. They do have an excellent math program, and in middle school several levels of classes.

2) While their are some exceptions, again due to the small population, we are not a sports powerhouse. Some of the middle school teams are pretty sad and can barely field enough people. Parents and students focused on sports tend to find more challenge in programs unaffiliated with the school and this has generated some excellent Cranbury athletes matriculating into Princeton High School.

3) We don't have our own high school and students bus to Princeton High School. This is a very well-ranked public high school in the state so many parents consider this a major benefit. The school offers about 30 AP course, has arguably the best high school jazz band in the country and sends more kids to Princeton U than any other public school (and even allows some high school students to take classes at the University). That said, the busing, and need to constantly drive up their to pick up kids who had to stay for various extracurricular activities, is draining on both the kids and parents. It's a big time suck for the busy kids. Our high schooler usually ends up not getting home until after 9 about 3 days out of 5 a week on average, but he may not be typical. And as good as PHS is, it's no Cranbury School. It's bigger (almost 1,500 students), so it has tons of course and programs. But the quality of the faculty and staff is far more hit-and-miss than Cranbury where the vast majority are excellent.

Again, overall love it and consider these drawbacks minor relative to the benefits.

Again, welcome.
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