Public schools in Plainfield, NJ
Plainfield has 19 public schools with a 2024-25 address in the city: 4 high, 2 middle, 10 elementary, 3 other, enrolling 10,939 students. They are run by 6 districts and agencies; Plainfield Public Schools runs 14 of them.
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: schools open that year with enrollment · method
The 6 districts and agencies that run Plainfield's public schools
Each district decides who can enroll where; its page holds its schools, spending and teachers.
| District | Schools in Plainfield | District students, fall 2022 | Spending per student, FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield Public Schools | 14 | 10,097 | $21,278 |
| College Achieve Public Schools | 1 | 1,403 | $21,622 |
| Cresthaven Academy Charter School | 1 | 532 | $18,321 |
| The Queen City Academy Charter School | 1 | 403 | $18,980 |
| Barack Obama Green Charter Schools | 1 | 257 | $21,712 |
| Union County TEAMS Charter School | 1 | 334 | $17,308 |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25: school location city and operating agency; NCES F-33 fiscal year 2022-23: district fall membership and current spending per student. Schools on a city's edge can serve students from outside it.
4 high schools in Plainfield, 2,859 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield High School | 2,077 | 13.3 | 68.3% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| The Barack Obama Green Charter High School | 358 | 14.3 | 70.1% | Barack Obama Green Charter Schools |
| Plainfield Academy For The Arts & Advanced Studies | 357 | 8.9 | 64.1% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| Pinnacle Academy High School | 67 | 22.3 | 67.2% | Plainfield Public Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
2 middle schools in Plainfield, 1,458 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubbard Middle School | 737 | 11.2 | 79.2% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| Maxson Middle School | 721 | 9.2 | 67.5% | Plainfield Public Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
10 elementary schools in Plainfield, 4,368 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedarbrook Elementary School | 671 | 11.2 | 61.7% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| Cresthaven Academy Charter School | 621 | 21.4 | 71.3% | Cresthaven Academy Charter School |
| Washington Community School | 557 | 12.4 | 81.0% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| Dewitt D. Barlow Elementary School | 423 | 12.7 | 75.9% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| Emerson Community School | 414 | 11.5 | 64.5% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| Evergreen Elementary School | 398 | 8.6 | 66.6% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| Clinton Elementary School | 386 | 10.6 | 76.4% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| Jefferson Elementary School | 383 | 10.2 | 76.0% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| Charles H. Stillman Elementary School | 317 | 11.4 | 84.5% | Plainfield Public Schools |
| Frederic W. Cook Elementary School | 198 | 5.5 | 41.4% | Plainfield Public Schools |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
3 other schools in Plainfield, 2,254 students
| School | Students 2024‑25 | Per teacher | Free lunch | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| College Achieve Central Charter School | 1,572 | 16.4 | 77.0% | College Achieve Public Schools |
| The Queen City Academy Charter School | 378 | 14.5 | 66.4% | The Queen City Academy Charter School |
| Union County TEAMS Charter School | 304 | 38.0 | 64.1% | Union County TEAMS Charter School |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch); level from the directory. All free (CEP): every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision, so the school reports no free-lunch count.
How Plainfield's public schools compare with New Jersey's
The median Plainfield school has 11.5 students per full-time teacher, about the same as the New Jersey median of 11.3. 83% of its schools ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22, against 31% across the state. Its median school enrolls 398 students (state 435).
| Plainfield | New Jersey | |
|---|---|---|
| Median students per teacher | 11.5 | 11.3 |
| Median school size (students) | 398 | 435 |
| Schools with a schoolwide Title I program (2021-22) | 83% | 31% |
| Schools where every student eats free (CEP) | 0% | 8.1% |
| Charter schools | 26% | 3.3% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (membership, staff, lunch program, charter status; the 19 Plainfield schools and the 2,480 New Jersey schools open that year with students); Title I status CCD 2021-22. Students per teacher counts 2024-25 teachers and ratios from 3 to 99.
What to look at next in Plainfield
- Plainfield Public SchoolsRuns 14 of Plainfield's 19 public schools and spent $21,278 per student in fiscal year 2022-23.$21,278
- Plainfield High School, the largest high school in Plainfield2,077 students in 2024-25, 13.3 per teacher.2,077
- Compare Plainfield Public Schools with College Achieve Public SchoolsPlainfield's two largest operators side by side: enrollment, spending and schools.
- The largest public schools in New JerseyNew Jersey's 50 largest schools open in 2024-25, by enrollment.
- Find the school district for a Plainfield addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (schools and their operating agencies); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23 (spending per student).
Choosing among them: how to choose a school district with the federal data, and what a Title I school is.
Other cities in New Jersey
- Newark78 schools
- Jersey City52 schools
- Paterson46 schools
- Elizabeth38 schools
- Trenton34 schools
- Hamilton26 schools
- Camden22 schools
- East Orange21 schools
Questions about schools in Plainfield
How many public schools are in Plainfield, NJ?
19 public schools with an address in Plainfield were open in 2024-25: 4 high, 2 middle, 10 elementary, 3 other, enrolling 10,939 students. 5 are charter schools.What is the largest high school in Plainfield?
Plainfield High School, with 2,077 students in 2024-25 (Plainfield Public Schools).Which districts run Plainfield's schools?
Plainfield Public Schools (14 schools), College Achieve Public Schools (1 school), Cresthaven Academy Charter School (1 school), The Queen City Academy Charter School (1 school), and 2 more. A school's district, not its city, decides who can enroll.
These figures are for information and are not a substitute for the district's enrollment office, which confirms the school a home is assigned to.
Sources
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Public school search (the official record of each school) · 2024-25