Willingboro Township Public Schools


The Willingboro Township Public Schools is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Willingboro Township, in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States.
As of the 2017–18 school year, the district, comprising eight schools, had an enrollment of 3,203 students and 272.0 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 11.8:1.
The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "DE", the fifth-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.

History

In 1994 the district established a task force on how to combat violence perpetrated by students. This was the second time the district had established such a task force in a two-year period.
In 2002 the district had 5,500 students. That year Toni Callas of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that the district had "mediocre test scores and a tainted public image." In 2002 it took steps to implement school uniforms and establish three magnet programs in order to attract students to its schools.

Governance

In January 2004, the district enacted a mandatory school uniform policy.

Awards and recognition

For the 2005-06 school year, Garfield East Elementary School was one of 22 schools statewide selected as Governor's School of Excellence Winners, an award given to schools that have demonstrated significant academic improvement over the previous two academic years.

Schools

Schools in the district are:
;Early childhood
;Elementary schools
;Intermediate / middle schools
;High school / alternative
The S.W. Bookbinder, J.A. McGinley and Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary Schools were closed at the end of the 2005-06 school year as part of an effort to save about $3.6 million, through the reduction of as many as 100 staff members and class sizes increased as large as 27 at the five remaining elementary schools. The cuts were needed to fill a two-year budget deficit of nearly $10 million.

Administration

Core members of the district's administration are:
The district's board of education has 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 as part of the November general election.