The Jersey City Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district located in Jersey City, in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. As of the 2019–20 school year, the district, comprised of 39 schools, had an enrollment of 29,113 students and 2,173.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.4:1.
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "B", the second lowest 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.
The district was one of three districts in New Jersey (along with Newark Public Schools and Paterson Public Schools) under "state intervention", which authorizes the state Commissioner of Education to intervene in curriculum functions. In 2017, Jersey City became the first school district in New Jersey to regain full local control after having been under "state intervention".
Awards, recognition and rankings
Academy I Middle School was one of nine public schools recognized in 2017 as Blue Ribbon Schools by the United States Department of Education. Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School was one of 18 schools statewide (and three public high schools) honored in 2018 by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, marking the second time the school was recognized by the program. Infinity Institute was honored by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program in 2019, one of nine schools in the state recognized as Exemplary High Performing Schools.
McNair Academic High School was the second-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 328 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2012 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked second in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. William L. Dickinson High School is the oldest high school in the city and James J. Ferris High School is represented by some of the top students of Jersey City who are members of the National Academy Foundation Magnet Programs. Academy I Middle School is one of the top middle schools in the country. Has been recognized with several achievements, including first place in the Lexus Environmental Challenge in 2008.
Dr. McNair Academic High School was named as a "Star School" by the New Jersey Department of Education, the highest honor that a New Jersey school can achieve, in the 1994-95 school year.
Alexander D. Sullivan School was recognized by Governor Jim McGreevey in 2003 as one of 25 schools selected statewide for the First Annual Governor's School of Excellence award.
School uniforms
Students have been required to wear school uniforms since 1998.
Schools
Schools in the district (with 2019–20 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are:
Elementary schools
Elementary schools
Elementary schools in the district are: Frank R. Conwell School P.S. 3 (642 students; grades PreK-5) Darren Mischel, principal Jotham W. Wakeman School P.S. 6 (664; PreK-5) Joseph Apruzzese, principal Charles E. Trefurt School P.S. 8 (755; PreK-5) Marisa Migliozzi, principal Julia A. Barnes School P.S. 12 (356; was PreK-8) Don Howard, principal Cornelia F. Bradford School P.S. 16 (812; PreK-5) Terry Watkins-Williams, principal Dr. Maya Angelou School P.S. 20 (689; PreK-5) Hani Ileya, principal Rev. Dr. Ercel F. Webb School P.S. 22 (680; PreK-5) Dr. Janine Anderson, principal Nicholas Copernicus School P.S. 25 (669; PreK-5) Diane Pistilli, principal Patricia M. Noonan School P.S. 26 (467; PK-5) Anne Beirne, principal Gladys Cannon Nunery School P.S. 29 (292; PreK-5) Robert O'Connor, principal Alexander D. Sullivan School P.S. 30 (577; PreK-5) Dr. Martha Osei-Yaw, principal Dr. Paul Rafalides School P.S. 33 (438; PreK-4) Janeen Maniscalco, principal Gerard J. Dynes N.J. Regional Day School (73; Ungraded) Colleen Williams, principal