At-A-Glance

DESCRIPTION

     A nonsectarian, coed through 6th grade school with progressive tradition founded in 2011.

​

LOCATION

     Painted Oak Nature School is located at 174 Lambertville-Hopewell Road, Hopewell, New Jersey, 08525, on a preserved 225 acre campus two miles from the Borough of Hopewell, five miles from the Borough of Pennington, and seven miles from downtown Lambertville, NJ.  

​

MISSION

     Painted Oak Nature School is a nurturing community of learners that values kindness, cooperation, curiosity, imagination, and respect for all living things. We cultivate habits that instill confidence, capability, and self-reliance. Through daily interactions with the environment, our school promotes a holistic nature-based education for preschoolers, grade schoolers, and their families that foster deep connections with the natural world and to each other. 

ENROLLMENT

     Painted Oak Nature School enrolls 128 boys and girls from a 30 mile radius. Children who attend PONS come from many New Jersey school districts including: Hopewell Valley, South Hunterdon, Delaware Township, Robbinsville, Bound Brook, East Brunswick, Freehold Township, and in Pennsylvania: Council Rock, Langhorne, New Hope-Solebury.

​

CLASS SIZE

     Teacher-student ratio in our Nature Preschool is 1:6. Teacher-student ratio in our Primary School is 1:7. Because we have specialist teachers who teach Electives classes to our oldest students, the children go to these classes in half groups. 

​

HOURS

      Primary School hours are 8:45am-3:15pm. Nature Preschool students are enrolled either half day from 9am-1pm, or full day from 9am-3pm. 

EXTENDED DAY

     Early Bird is available for before school care from 8am - 9am at the rate of $10.50/hour.

      Owl Club is available for after school care from 3pm - 5pm at the rate of $12.50/hour.

GOVERNANCE

     Painted Oak Nature School is registered with the New Jersey Department of Education as a Nonpublic School. ​