West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North (also known as WW-P North or North) is a four-year public comprehensive high school located in Plainsboro Township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school serves students in ninth through twelfth grades. The school joins West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South as the two secondary schools of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, a school district serving students from West Windsor (in Mercer County) and Plainsboro Township (in Middlesex County).
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,499 students and 118.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.6:1. There were 53 students (3.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 13 (0.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North opened in September 1997. An addition was added in 2000. The first class to graduate was the Class of 2002. The facility covers and contains all core facilities. The school is located on an tract on Grovers Mill Road in Plainsboro, across from Community Middle School and the Millstone River Upper Elementary School.
The school mascot is the Northern Knight, and the school colors are Royal Blue and Silver. The mascot was chosen as voted on by the original three graduating classes, the Classes of 2002, 2003, and 2004.
History The original building, constructed on a site at a cost of $30 million (equivalent to $ million in ), opened in September 1997 as the district's second high school facility, with an inaugural class of 525 students in ninth grade. An additional $13 million was allocated to expand the building to accommodate 1,750 students in grades 9-12.Carr, Sean P. "Schools: Growing districts herald computer era", Home News Tribune, September 2, 1997. Accessed December 31, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "About 525 West Windsor-Plainsboro freshmen will be the lone students when the district's 90-acre Millstone River campus on Grovers Mill Road in Plainsboro opens tomorrow. While the $30 million school was still under construction in October, voters approved a $59.7 million referendum question that included $13 million to expand it to a 1,750-student capacity. Over four years, the campus will be transformed into a full-fledged school, equal to the main Princeton Junction campus in West Windsor."
Awards, recognition and rankings During the 2006–07 school year, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized in 2006, United States Department of Education. Accessed April 16, 2007 the highest award an American school can receive."CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve.""Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test", The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
The school was the 23rd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 32nd in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 29th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 7, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 19th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 1, 2011.
Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 69th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 8 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (92.9%) and language arts literacy (97.3%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 26, 2012.
In the 2011 "Ranking America's High Schools" issue by The Washington Post, the school was ranked 18th in New Jersey and 708th nationwide.Mathews, Jay. "The High School Challenge 2011: West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North", The Washington Post. Accessed July 28, 2011.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 183rd in the nation among participating public high schools and 12th overall (sixth of non-magnet schools) in New Jersey.Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 8, 2013. The school was ranked 197th in the nation and 15th in New Jersey on the list of "America's Best High Schools 2012" prepared by The Daily Beast / Newsweek, with rankings based primarily on graduation rate, matriculation rate for college and number of Advanced Placement / International Baccalaureate courses taken per student, with lesser factors based on average scores on the SAT / ACT, average AP/IB scores and the number of AP/IB courses available to students.Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2012", The Daily Beast / Newsweek, May 20, 2012. Accessed May 22, 2012.
The school's student-run radio station is WWPH 107.9 FM, based in Princeton Junction.107.9-FM, WWPH. Accessed January 2, 2011. "107.9-FM, WWPH, Princeton Junction Home of the Pirate and the Knight....The student radio station for West Windsor--Plainsboro High Schools North and South."
Debate League Since the school's opening in 1999, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North's Debate League is a top competitor in regional debate tournaments and competitions, including Princeton Moot Court, New Jersey Mock Trial, and the Colonial Valley Conference. In the 2016–17 school year, High School North's Mock Trial was ranked second in Middlesex County, ending the season with a 3–1 record. They also ranked first place in the CVC Policy Debate division. Prior in 2011, High School North also won the Spring Moot Court tournament at Princeton University and since then has had its members regularly rank among the top competitors.
Fed Challenge North's Fed Challenge team was the New York Federal Reserve District Champion in 2007, 2010, and 2014. In 2015, 2016 and 2017 the team advanced to the Finals and placed 2nd.St. Joseph High School Wins 2010 National Fed Challenge!, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Accessed July 28, 2011. "On May 18, a team of six students from Saint Joseph's High School in South Bend, Indiana, representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Seventh District, took on teams representing several other Fed Districts and won the High School Fed Challenge competition national championship held in Washington D.C. Other participants in the finals were second-place winner West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, from Plainsboro New Jersey (New York District)..."
Science Olympiad North advanced to the Science Olympiad national tournament after winning the New Jersey state competition 5 times, in 2008, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2023 and placed 9th, 16th, 11th, 8th and 15th respectively. They also went to nationals in 2024 after New Jersey received a 2nd bid for the national competition. North also qualified for the 2020 national tournament, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Distinguished teachers In 2009, Timothy Cornell was selected as a winner of the 2009 Edyth May Sliffe Award for distinguished high school mathematics teaching, presented by the Mathematical Association of America, one of 22 teachers throughout high schools in the United States and Canada to be selected for the award.The Edyth May Sliffe Awards For Distinguished High School Mathematics Teaching, University of Minnesota Duluth. Accessed July 28, 2011.
Athletics The West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North KnightsWest Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. participate in the Colonial Valley Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Mercer, Middlesex and Monmouth counties, and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 1,084 students in grades 10 to 12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2022-23 school year as South, Group 4 for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The co-op football team competes in the Capitol Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconferenceWest Windsor-Plainsboro South Pirates, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.Home Page, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023. "The WJFL is a 94-school super conference that stretches from Princeton to Wildwood encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conference, the Tri-County Conference, the Colonial Conference, and the Cape Atlantic League. The WJFL is made up of sixteen divisions with divisional alignments based on school size, geography and a strength-of-program component." After suspending its football program, the district received approval from the NJSIAA to establish a co-operative North / South football team starting in the 2018-19 school yearEvans, Bill; and Minnick, Kevin. "Team-by-team look at South Jersey football's 93-team mega conference: The WJFL", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. August 29, 2018, updated May 14, 2019. Accessed September 7, 2020. "West Windsor-Plainsboro Pirates... West Windsor-Plainsboro was denied a co-op last season but awarded one this year, though can't participate in the postseason." that was classified by the NJSIAA as Group V South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 1,333 to 2,324 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The school participates in joint cooperative ice hockey and football teams with West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South as the host school / lead agency. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.NJSIAA Fall Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.