Editing Lopatcong Township, New Jersey (section)

==Education==
The [[Lopatcong Township School District]] serves public school students in [[pre-kindergarten]] through [[eighth grade]].<ref>[http://www.lopatcongschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/0000-Bylaws-3-25-19.pdf#page=2 Loptacong Township Board of Education Bylaw 0110 - Identification], Lopatcong Township School District. Accessed June 1, 2023. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades Pre-Kindergarten through eight in the Lopatcong Township School District. Composition: The Lopatcong Township School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Lopatcong Township."</ref> As of the 2021–22 school year, the district, comprised of two schools, had an enrollment of 707 students and 58.0 classroom teachers (on an [[full-time equivalent|FTE]] basis), for a [[student–teacher ratio]] of 12.2:1.<ref name=NCES>[https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=3409000&DistrictID=3409000 District information for Lopatcong Township School District], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed December 1, 2022.</ref> Schools in the district (with 2021–22 enrollment data from the [[National Center for Education Statistics]]<ref>[https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3409000 Data for the Lopatcong Township School District], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed December 1, 2022.</ref>) are 
Lopatcong Elementary School with 350 students in grades PreK-4 and 
Lopatcong Middle School with 355 students in grades 5-8.<ref>[http://www.lopatcongschool.org/contact-directions/ Contact & Directions], Lopatcong School District. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref><ref name=WarrenDistricts>[https://www.warrencountynj.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/4963/637976372031370000#page=20 ''Warren County 2022-2023 Public School Directory''], [[Warren County, New Jersey]]. Accessed December 27, 2022.</ref><ref>[https://rc.doe.state.nj.us/selectreport/2022-2023/41/2790 School Performance Reports for the Lopatcong Township School District], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed April 1, 2024.</ref><ref>[https://homeroom6.doe.state.nj.us/directory/school/districtid/2790 New Jersey School Directory for the Lopatcong Township School District], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed February 1, 2024.</ref> Before the middle school opened in 2003, students would attend the elementary school through eighth grade; The middle school was constructed in the wake of increasing enrollment, which climbed more than 50% from just over 500 in 1995 to more than 750 by 2001.<ref name=NYT2003/>

Public school students in [[ninth grade|ninth]] through [[twelfth grade]]s attend [[Phillipsburg High School (New Jersey)|Phillipsburg High School]] in [[Phillipsburg, New Jersey|Phillipsburg]] as part of a [[sending/receiving relationship]] with the [[Phillipsburg School District]]. The high school also serves students from four other sending communities: [[Alpha, New Jersey|Alpha]], [[Bloomsbury, New Jersey|Bloomsbury]] (in [[Hunterdon County, New Jersey|Hunterdon County]]), [[Greenwich Township, Warren County, New Jersey|Greenwich Township]] and [[Pohatcong Township, New Jersey|Pohatcong Township]].<ref name=WarrenDistricts/><ref>[http://www.nj.gov/education/pr/1415/narrative/41/4100/050.html Phillipsburg High School 2015 Report Card Narrative], [[New Jersey Department of Education]]. Accessed June 5, 2020. "At the secondary level, the district serves not only students from the town of Phillipsburg which makes up 37.6% of the high school population, but also students from the surrounding boroughs of Alpha and Bloomsbury, as well as the townships of Greenwich, Lopatcong, and Pohatcong."</ref><ref>[https://www.pburgsd.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1201400&type=d&pREC_ID=1440845 About PSD], Phillipsburg School District. Accessed June 5, 2020. "The district serves students from the Town of Phillipsburg and five sending communities at the secondary level: Alpha, Bloomsbury, Greenwich, Lopatcong and Pohatcong Townships. Phillipsburg is the largest community in Warren County."</ref> The site of the new Phillipsburg High School, which began construction in January 2014, is in Lopatcong's borders. The three-story, {{convert|330000|sqft|adj=on}} building, with more than double the floor space of the existing high school and a capacity to accommodate more than 2,100 students, was completed for the 2016–17 school year and was dedicated in September 2016 at ceremonies attended by [[Governor of New Jersey]] [[Chris Christie]].<ref>Peters, Sarah. [http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/phillipsburg/index.ssf/2014/07/new_phillipsburg_high_school_b.html "New Phillipsburg High School beginning to take shape in Lopatcong Township"], ''[[The Express-Times]]'', July 7, 2014. Accessed March 29, 2015. "The new Phillipsburg High School is starting to take shape atop a steep hillside off Belvidere Road in Lopatcong Township.... Five school board members and at least four administrators embarked on the tour of the property scheduled to open during the 2016-2017 academic year."</ref><ref>Novak, Steve. [http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/warren-county/index.ssf/2016/09/christie_new_phillipsburg_high.html "Christie: New Phillipsburg High School most modern in N.J."], ''[[The Express-Times]]'', September 21, 2016. Accessed January 17, 2017. "The 330,000-square-foot high school finally opened for classes this month, and Gov. Chris Christie -- who on Wednesday was the guest of honor at a ceremony marking the $127.5 million project's completion -- thanked the assembled staff, students and other dignitaries for their patience.... The building on a hilltop in Lopatcong Township is designed for 2,172 students in grades 9 to 12, with 50 general classrooms, 12 science labs, 4 computer labs, media center and arts and vocational facilities."</ref> As of the 2021–22 school year, the high school had an enrollment of 1,809 students and 133.5 classroom teachers (on an [[full-time equivalent|FTE]] basis), for a [[student–teacher ratio]] of 13.6:1.<ref>[https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3412960&ID=341296005852 School data for Phillipsburg High School], [[National Center for Education Statistics]]. Accessed December 1, 2022.</ref>

Students from the township and from all of Warren County are eligible to attend Ridge and Valley Charter School in [[Frelinghuysen Township, New Jersey|Frelinghuysen Township]] (for grades K–8)<ref>[http://www.ridgeandvalley.org/about-us/f-a-q/ F.A.Q.], Ridge and Valley Charter School. Accessed January 17, 2017. "Enrollment is open, on a space available basis, to all K-8 students residing in N.J. with priority given to students residing in the districts of Blairstown, Hardwick, Knowlton, Frelinghuysen, and North Warren Regional School."</ref> or [[Warren County Technical School]] in [[Washington, New Jersey|Washington borough]] (for 9–12),<ref>[http://www.wctech.org/wcts/About%20Us/ About Us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927093127/http://www.wctech.org/wcts/About%20Us/ |date=2013-09-27 }}, [[Warren County Technical School]]. Accessed September 16, 2013.</ref> with special education services provided by local districts supplemented throughout the county by the [[Warren County Special Services School District]] in [[Oxford Township, New Jersey|Oxford Township]] (for Pre-K–12).<ref name=WarrenDistricts/><ref>[http://wcsssd.org/?page_id=2 About] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927023343/http://wcsssd.org/?page_id=2 |date=2013-09-27 }}, [[Warren County Special Services School District]]. Accessed September 16, 2013.</ref>

Lopatcong Township was featured in a 2003 article in ''[[The New York Times]]'', which addressed problems of public school financing in suburban communities and various strategies that Lopatcong and other such communities were adopting to deal with the problem.<ref name=NYT2003>Mansnerus, Laura. [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/13/nyregion/13SUBU.html "Great Haven for Families, but Don't Bring Children"], ''[[The New York Times]]'' August 13, 2003. Accessed June 10, 2013. "That describes Lopatcong, near Interstate 78 at the state's western edge. As farms gave way to subdivisions of single-family houses, the population rose to 6,991 in 2002 from 5,765 in 2000. Enrollment at the town's elementary school was 503 in 1995 and 755 in 2001, and it is expected to reach 900 this fall, when a new middle school will open."</ref>