Stuart Country Day School

Last updated

Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart
Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart seal.jpg
Location
Stuart Country Day School
1200 Stuart Road

Princeton
,
Mercer County
,
New Jersey
08540

United States
Coordinates 40°22′4″N74°41′7″W / 40.36778°N 74.68528°W / 40.36778; -74.68528
Information
Type Private, All-Girls
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Established1963 [1]
NCES School IDA1902884 [2]
DeanKristen Zosche (Upper)
PrincipalMarissa Muoio (Upper)
Robert Missonis (Middle)
Christine D'Alessandro (Lower)
Head of schoolJulia Wall [3]
Faculty67.0 FTEs [2]
Grades PS–12
Enrollment283 (plus 10 in PreK, as of 2023–24) [2]
Student to teacher ratio4.2:1 [2]
Colors  Green and
  White [4]
Athletics conference New Jersey Association of Independent Schools
MascotStuie the Deer
Team nameTartans [4]
Accreditation Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools [5]
NewspaperThe Tartan [6]
YearbookLa Source [1]
Tuition$50,120 (9–12 for 2025–26) [7]
Business ManagerRose Neubert
Admissions DirectorHillary Nastro
Athletic DirectorFrances Lyons
Website www.stuartschool.org

Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart is an independent all-girls Catholic country day school located in Princeton, in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that serves students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Stuart is divided into a co-educational Early Childhood Program, a Lower School for junior kindergarten through grade 4, a Middle School for grades 5 through 8, and an Upper School for grades 9 through 12. The school was named for Janet Erskine Stuart.

Contents

As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 283 students (plus 10 in PreK) and 67.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 4.2:1. [2]

Stuart Country Day School has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1991 and is accredited until January 2027. [5] It is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education and is a member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools. [8]

History

Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart was founded in 1963 and named for Mother Janet Stuart by a group of women who wished to establish a Sacred Heart school for girls in Princeton, New Jersey. With the help of the Society of the Sacred Heart and local friends, a large tract of woodlands was purchased on The Great Road, and Professor Jean Labatut of Princeton University was appointed architect for the project. [9]

Constructed at a cost of $2 million (equivalent to $20.5 million in 2024), the school's campus was designed by Labatut to blend in with the characteristics of the terrain, implementing principles developed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Opened for the 1963–64 school year with 98 students, enrollment had climbed to 175 by the following school year. [10]

Requirements

Dedication to service is an integral part of Stuart's foundation and a Sacred Heart education. Created to help students understand the needs of their community and actively respond, the Stuart Community Service Program provides rewarding life experiences that become positive forces in every student's life. All students in the Upper School have an ongoing community service requirement of 50 hours per year. During a student's four years in the Upper School, she spends a minimum of two years working on a community service project outside of school and a minimum of one year involved with the economically and/or socially disadvantaged.

Academic requirements are as follows:

Graduation Requirements (Upper School)

Each student must take a minimum of six courses each trimester and a maximum of eight.

Academics

Stuart is an academically demanding school, and all teachers have very high standards for their students' work. Stuart also offers Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses in a number of fields, including AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C, AP Environmental Science, AP Calculus BC, AP Calculus AB, AP Computer Science, AP United States History, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Spanish Literature, AP French Literature, AP Latin Literature, AP Latin: Virgil, AP Studio Art and AP Music Theory.

Students who enroll in an AP class at Stuart are required to take the AP examination in May. Students enrolling in AP Physics C take both the Mechanics and Electromagnetism portions in the same year. Most commonly, those who took the Honors Pre-calculus class enroll in AP Calculus BC while those in the regular Pre-calculus class enroll in AP Calculus AB.

99% of Stuart graduates immediately go on to enroll in a 4-year college. The Class of 2008 had 28% of its graduating class matriculate to Ivy League schools.

In the Upper School there are wide variety of clubs and student organizations for students to participate in, including Student Government, Mock trial, Model United Nations/Model Congress, Dance Society, DAYS Club, Tartan Tones Musical Group, Tartan Tones Select, The Tartan Newspaper, LaSource Yearbook, Spirit Committee, Thistle Literary Magazine, Mu Alpha Theta, Spirit Committee, Social Committee, Campus Ministry, Outreach Committee, Current Events Club and Admissions Committee.

Athletic teams

The Stuart Country Day School Tartans participate independently in high school sports under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. [4] Stuart offers sports teams in the Middle School and the Upper School, the mascot being the deer because when the founders first looked at the property, they saw a deer drinking from the stream in the current "Reflection Garden".

Upper School sports teams include:

Fall Sports:

Winter Sports:

Spring Sports:

Although Stuart's offering of athletic teams is limited, student athletes represent the school in competitions for winter track and other sports. All students who try out for a team are accepted to either the Varsity or Junior Varsity team, no one is cut completely from participation.

Led by coach Katie Grant, the 2007 field hockey team won the Mercer County Tournament and shared the state Prep championship after a 2–2 tie with Lawrenceville School. [11] [12] The team won the Mercer County tourney over top-seeded Allentown High School in 2005, its first title since 1995 and the team's first unshared championship. [13]

The tennis team won the 2005 Prep B championship. [14]

The cross country team won the state Prep B championship in 2005 under the guidance of coach Robert Abdullah, marking their fourth consecutive title. [15] In 2007, Abdullah's track and field team won its sixth consecutive Prep B title. [16]

In 2008, the lacrosse team defeated Rutgers Preparatory School by a score of 16-8 to win its fourth consecutive Prep B championship. [17] Aiming for a fifth consecutive title in 2009, Stuart lost to Morristown-Beard School in overtime, by a final score of 13-10. [18]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

References

  1. 1 2 2024-2025 Middle and Upper School Parent / Student Handbook, Stuart Country Day School. Accessed January 1, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 School data for Stuart Country Day School Of The Sacred Heart, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed September 1, 2025.
  3. ↑ School leadership, Stuart Country Day School. Accessed January 1, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Stuart Country Day School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools Accessed December 31, 2022.
  6. ↑ Home Page, The Tartan. Accessed January 1, 2026.
  7. ↑ Tuition and Financial Aid, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart. Accessed January 1, 2026.
  8. ↑ List of Member Schools, New Jersey Association of Independent Schools. Accessed August 13, 2017.
  9. ↑ The History of Sacred Heart and Stuart, Stuart Country Day School, August 2013. Accessed January 1, 2026. "Regarding the name—Russell O’Brien wanted it to be 'Caroll Country Day.' Other names were suggested. Millie and I liked the idea of the school being named for Janet Erskine Stuart, and Peggy was adamant about it.... And so, classes at Stuart began as planned on September 18, 1963."
  10. ↑ Walsh, Edward. "Architect's Delight", The Star-Ledger , March 7, 1965. Accessed January 1, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "The new Stuart Country Day School near Princeton is an architectural delight. It was built to conform to the hilly landscape and the least possible number of boulders, which dot the area, and trees were removed during, construction.... The $2 million structure is unique in many respects.... The trunks were sawed across to make stools and tables for the foyer. Stuart School, which opened September, 1963, with 98 pupils, now has 175 girls, ranging from the pre-school level to high school seniors.... The unique school was designed by Jean Labatut, a French architect, and incorporates some of the functional designs pioneered by the late Frank Lloyd Wright."
  11. ↑ Alden, Bill. "Johnson's Speed Makes a Big Difference as Stuart Field Hockey Shares Prep Crown", Town Topics , November 7, 2007. Accessed June 21, 2011. "Last Sunday, Johnson, who has won several state Prep B sprint titles for the Stuart track team, was at full speed as the Tartans battled visiting Lawrenceville in the state Prep title game.... But the efforts of Johnson and her teammates weren't enough to break the deadlock and the game ended in a 2-2 tie with the teams being named co-champions."
  12. ↑ O'Gorman, Joe. "Grant steps down as Stuart's coach", The Trentonian , July 5, 2010. Accessed June 21, 2011.
  13. ↑ Alden, Bill. "Stuart Field Hockey Topples Allentown To Earn First-Ever Outright MCT Crown", Town Topics , November 2, 2005. Accessed June 22, 2011. "It was the Mercer County Tournament (MCT) field hockey final matching the area's top guns with second-seeded Stuart Country Day (15-0-1) duelling top-seeded Allentown (14-0).... Offensive star Bruvik cited the team's speed and transition game as factors that made the difference as Stuart won its first outright MCT title, having shared the 1995 crown with Nottingham."
  14. ↑ Athletics, Stuart Country Day School. Accessed June 21, 2011.
  15. ↑ Alden, Bill. "With Levitt Producing Sparkling Finale, Stuart Cross Country Wins 4th Prep B", Town Topics , November 9, 2005. Accessed June 21, 2011. "Sasha Levitt felt uneasy as she rode on the van last Wednesday to the state Prep B championship meet, the last competition of her career on the Stuart Country Day cross country team.... Levitt followed that advice to the letter as she ended her career with a bang, placing fourth in the individual standings to help the Tartans take their fourth straight title."
  16. ↑ Alden, Bill. "Stuart Track Wins 6th Straight Prep B, Sparked by Seniors, Johnson's Sprinting", Town Topics , May 23, 2007. Accessed June 21, 2011.
  17. ↑ Alden, Bill. "Triggered by Passano's Passing Game, Stuart Lax Rolls to 4th Prep B Title", Town Topics , May 21, 2008. Accessed June 21, 2011. "The junior star for the Stuart Country Day lacrosse team came into last Wednesday's state Prep B title game against Rutgers Prep with 47 goals.But it was Passano's passing that helped Stuart achieve its goal of winning a fourth straight Prep B championship. Displaying superb field vision, Passano triggered the Tartan attack, passing for six assists as Stuart pulled away to a 16-8 win over the visiting Argonauts."
  18. ↑ Staff. "Girls lacrosse: Leeds shows way in OT for Mo-Beard", Daily Record , May 9, 2009. Accessed June 21, 2011. "Junior attack Courtney Leeds' goal 27 seconds into overtime proved to be the game-winner when Morristown-Beard defeated Stuart Country Day 13-10 in the Prep B Girls Lacrosse final on Friday."
  19. ↑ Lemonick, Michael D. "Abigail Borah: COP-ping an Attitude on Climate Change", Climate Central, February 27, 2012. Accessed February 22, 2022. "She grew up near Princeton, N.J., and went to the Catholic-affiliated Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart."
  20. ↑ "Congratulations, Class of '89", Trenton , June 25, 1989. Accessed January 1, 2026, via Newspapers.com. "Michele Cooke of Princeton was awarded the bachelor of science in engineering degree, with honors, at Princeton University's 242nd commencement on June 6.... A graduate of Stuart Country Day School, Princeton, Cooke is the daughter of Dr. Barbara King-Shaver of Princeton and Theodore F. Cooke III of Martinsville."
  21. ↑ "Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart", The Times , June 25, 1985. Accessed January 1, 2026, via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ Staff. "Suzanna P. Love, Actress, Married to Ulli Lommel", The New York Times , January 27, 1978. Accessed November 8, 2017. "Suzanna Potter Love, an actress, and Ulli Lommel of Berlin, a film director and actor, were married yesterday in the Municipal Building. The bride is a daughter of Mrs. Robert Morgan of New York and of Kennett Love, a writer and former correspondent for The New York Times.... She attended the Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Princeton, N.J., and Vassar College and was graduated last year from Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater."
  23. ↑ "Ellen Spencer Susman ’68: Award-Winning Television Journalist", Stuart Country Day School. Accessed January 25, 2022. "Ellen was one of the earliest graduates of Stuart and she took advantage of every opportunity to create connection and community while she was here."
  24. ↑ Parker, L.A. "The former South Carolina University star via Trenton Catholic Academy requested a rebounder then showed the genesis of her nickname.", The Trentonian , February 26, 2019. Accessed January 25, 2022. "Sutton has lived a life in rarified air as a Stuart Day School middle school student followed by high school education and basketball stardom at Trenton Catholic Academy with coach Khaliq Lewis El and then more fame at South Carolina as a player for coach Dawn Staley."
  25. ↑ Staff. "Barbara Boggs Sigmund, Mayor Of Princeton and Ex-Teacher, 51", The New York Times , October 11, 1990. Accessed November 8, 2017. "Barbara Boggs Sigmund, the Mayor of Princeton and a member of one of the nation's best-known political families, died of cancer yesterday at her home in Princeton, N.J.... She became a Latin teacher at the Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Princeton."
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