“I have my fingers crossed, all of my fingers and toes. And my husband, too, everyone is crossing their fingers,” shares Begoña Mendiguren, as she waits to find out if her daughter will get a Princeton Public Schools Pre-kindergarten spot for the 2020-2021 school year. Mendiguren shares a sentiment commonly heard around town lately, as parents await an April 17^th lottery for enrollment into Princeton’s free and newly expanded public offerings in early childhood education. But how will this option affect the greater community? Several private preschools have already seen the cost of shrinking enrollment numbers due to the changing needs of parents. In June, another traditional nursery school will close, the third to do so in the past five years.

University League Nursery School (ULNS), founded by a group of Princeton University families in 1949, announced last fall it’s done at the end of this school year. ULNS had taken over the home of The Jewish Center Preschool (The Joan Levin School of Early Childhood Education) when it shut its doors in 2016. And further down Nassau Street, in the Nassau Presbyterian Church, Dietrich Johnson is no longer. That cooperative nursery school shuttered in 2015.

While the traditional morning nursery school landscape within Princeton proper is shrinking, public offerings are expanding. Princeton Public Schools, which has been operating a 30-student public-funded, full-day general education Pre-kindergarten program since 2004, opened a dual-language PreK and a classroom for 3-year olds this past fall. A limited number of spots used to be available, at a cost, to community members that didn’t qualify with a financial or special need. Now all spots are free and the program is set to expand further with an additional 3-year old classroom for the 2020-2021 school year, aiming to offer preschool to 75 Princeton children.

The catch is, not every child that wants to, can get into Princeton Public School’s program. All general population families wishing to enroll their child have an opportunity to do so until April 2^nd, but they’re not all guaranteed a spot. First, they must be a Princeton resident. Then, there is still priority registration. By law, space is guaranteed for students eligible for special services as well as those who are economically disadvantaged (qualifying for the Federal Meals Benefit Program).  Veronica Ulrich, Grant Writer and Coordinator of Special Projects for PPS helped the district secure the additional state aid in 2019 that made the expansion possible. “Our growth is dictated by the needs of the community and we will continue to do our best in response to that need,” says Urlich. If you don’t meet one of those qualifications, you could be entered into a lottery to fill the remaining spots. “Availability is determined after current students are placed in the next level and we have completed thorough outreach to the economically disadvantaged families in our community.” For the 2019-2020 school year, 50% of the spots were given to students qualifying for the Federal Meals Benefit Program, and the school is currently full with a waitlist of approximately 10 students.

In Princeton, all of the existing preschools do offer some level of scholarship in an attempt to help those with financial need, but one was created specifically with those families in mind. Since 1929, the philosophy at Princeton Nursery School (PNS) has been “to help families improve their lives and help by providing peace of mind of a preschool education,” says PNS Executive Director Rosanda Wong. To enroll your child at PNS you must be working parents, parents going to college, or a combination. Included in its tuition, which is often at least partly paid for by state subsidies and scholarships (only two current families pay full monthly tuition) PNS offers 12-month schooling, including before and after care, meals and supports for the whole family. Means beyond those a public school can offer. While it has a natural concern the public program could pull from its population of potential families, it is not planning to change to compete. “Some families who are Princeton residents who would qualify for PPS have remained at PNS because a free program is free only to a certain extent,” says Wong. “If you need before and after care or coverage on days the public school district is closed, you have to pay for it.” Notably, only 50% of Princeton Nursery School families reside in Princeton, so half its population isn’t even eligible for the PPS program.

The rise in dual-working families helped shutter Dietrich Johnson and The Jewish Center (TJC) Preschool. Susan Kanter was Vice President of Education at TJC when it made the decision to close. She told Princeton Perspectives, “the availability of early drop-off, late pick-up, and a full program that ran 52-weeks a year were some of the factors that led TJC to end the program.”

ULNS, had attempted to keep up with those needs. Though it’s continued to offer a morning-only program, a full-day option was added in the 1990s. The nursery school had approximately 112 children for years, including when it moved from its Princeton University location to its Jewish Center home. It now has 66. That number is still higher than most but doesn’t afford them the opportunity to stay true to their core mission and compete with the expanded PPS program. So they, too, made the decision to close.  We “would have had to pare down to such a smaller school which would affect the tradition of high-quality nursery education. We were seeing the picture down the road.” said school Director Cindy Schenthal.

Free preschool, a haven for families with financial insecurity, is also a helpful option for those who have a tight budget or would like to use that money elsewhere. Lindsay Weiss saw people choose it in the fall when the PPS program expanded and ULNS announced its plans to close. “One family was signed up to go to ULNS but switched to public and has been very happy,” says Weiss. Her middle child is graduating from ULNS, and she has a younger one who is ready to begin. She’s opting to put her youngest in another private school but adds, that’s not everyone’s plan. “I think a lot of people are going to be leaving private to get free preschool.”

It’s that concern that may be creating a new enrollment trend. With the desire to attract ULNS families to their nursery programs, and in an effort to deter the possibility of current families leaving for the free public option, some enrollment obligations shifted this year. One Nassau Nursery School parent witnessed her school working to lock families in this past December, earlier than the usual commitment time of February.   Cherry Hill Nursery School was another. Enrollment there normally begins in January or February. “We’re seeing a pull from PPS,” said school director Shreya Dasgupta. “Even some folks that toured the school were candid in that they’d rather wait to commit until they heard from the free preschool.” But, there is risk involved by waiting, as you may end up without a spot. The phone started ringing at Cherry Hill when ULNS announced it was closing and this year 2 of their 4 classrooms were already full by late January. “Since there’s so much interest, the deadline for contracts was moved sooner,” added Dasgupta, noting their smaller size is a factor, too. Cherry Hill has just one class for each age, from 2 to 5-years old.

Most of the preschools in Princeton proper have their niche. Nassau Nursery and Cherry Hill are cooperatives and for parents that don’t want a full day. Some are affiliated with other institutions, like University NOW, a daycare catering to mostly Princeton University families. Administrative Director Anja Zimmermann at Crossroads Nursery School, on the campus of The Institute for Advanced Studies, says though nearly 70% of its preschool age population tends to come from the greater community, they can’t adapt their enrollment schedule to compete. “We can’t do early enrollment,“ states Zimmermann. “We have to wait until Institute members get their letters of admittance, to know which families we’ll have.” Crossroads plans to keep a waitlist until it opens admissions to the community in mid-March and will then see if the ULNS closure and PPS expansion affect it. However, Zimmermann says “at this point, it’s same as usual in hearing from members of the community.”

Making small changes and staying in their lane seem to be trends for attempted sustainability. Independent schools like Princeton Montessori, which offers early childhood education that continues into grade school, is doing just that. At Montessori, they’re counting on the fact that their 150-year old methodology will keep parents from leaving for the free public option. “We have a completely different product,” says Michelle Morrison, Head of School. “Our teachers become experts on child development over 3 years, not three days, and we’re meeting a progressive vision of what education should be that public schools are trying to catch up on.” She cautions parents to pick the school that’s best for their child. “I understand that for many dual-working families, free sounds good, but they have to look deeper and take a look at what the experience really feels like for their child.”

Despite other options, with an 18-month old at home, Begoña Mendiguren hopes her PreK daughter can attend Johnson Park with her two older children. She and many others anxiously await what the options dictate after 2pm on April 17^th, when Princeton Public Schools holds its lottery for any remaining preschool spots. For those that don’t get in or choose private, there are still great preschool options in Princeton proper, and many more beyond its borders.

Whether you have children in the public schools or not, if you own a home in Princeton your taxes are affected by the Princeton Public Schools referendum. Fifteen months ago the residents of Princeton voted to approve the most recent bond referendum for $26.9m. With remote learning currently in place, and limited faculty on site at the schools, the referendum work is expected to continue. As contractors are taking extra health precautions for their workers, and we inch closer to summer and the impending June retirement of Superintendent Steve Cochrane, where has our money gone and what is still to be done?

Seven projects were outlined in this referendum and so far, three are completed. Those include a new HVAC system at Riverside Elementary School, air conditioning installed at the Princeton High School gym and some elementary school electrical upgrades. The fourth project, security upgrades at the town’s four elementary schools, was awarded at the November 2019 Board of Education public meeting.

Security at the Schools

Security seems like it’d be an early priority and initially, the security vestibule construction was planned for 2019. But earlier last year, as the PPS Board and administration began preparations, they learned more time was needed to make the security transition more successful. It was important to take time, Superintendent Cochrane said, “to fully educate our community about our security needs and approaches and to begin to change behaviors and practices before constructing the vestibules.” The district implemented lobby guards, set up new technology systems for visitors and met with parents and staff at each school. This month, security films were installed over the elementary school windows. Most of the designs for the new vestibules were completed by January, but there was a minor change at Littlebrook and input from some constituents at Community Park prompted further adjustments. “When I looked at the plans, I thought the design could be simpler,” says professional architect and Community Park parent, Louisa Clayton. “I just made some tweaks to the vestibule and also to the front office space to work better with visibility.” The district and BOE worked with Clayton and others to make the modifications, while trying to push things along and stay on schedule, but the Board is still waiting to learn if these changes will affect pricing. Doors and hardware have been ordered and interior classroom door replacement is scheduled to begin during the night-shift, one school at a time, as early as April. The remaining vestibule and construction work in the elementary schools is still planned to be done over the summer, where many existing entry doors will be reused.

John Witherspoon Middle School gets Started

John Witherspoon Middle School renovations have begun. It started with minor piping work in February and at the start of March, major projects. The old library, or Academic Conference Center (ACC) is sealed off and will be converted into four flexible learning spaces. Part of that space was initially planned for an expanded nursing area, but the Board decided to save that for classrooms and instead incorporate a front school office to completely overhaul the nurses’ suite with proper medical, exam and resting rooms, as well as a bathroom. “This was not a change as much as doing what was planned, a little better,” adds Board member Brian McDonald, authorized by the Board President and Superintendent to speak about the referendum on behalf of the Board. Attempts were made to confine the noise, as some of this work was taking place during school hours. Major demolition is scheduled to begin this weekend, and with no students on campus during remote learning, may even accelerate. JW Principal Jason Burr has been sending weekly emails to school families to keep them abreast of the scope of work and its progress. Additionally, when students return in September, they can expect a new secure and reconfigured entryway as well as new air conditioning units in 46 classrooms and HVAC in the cafeteria and new ACC space.

Elementary HVAC Fixes

Last summer’s HVAC project at Riverside Elementary School, which caused Riverside students to begin classes one day after the rest of the district, has framed the way plans are being made for future projects. This includes the air conditioning and heating improvements at JW and the remaining elementary schools. From experiences in other districts, the Board also learned to push construction dates, guaranteeing everything is prepped, ordered and on site before project launch. As district rules dictate, the elementary schools’ bids and the middle school bid were awarded to the lowest, qualified and responsible bidder at the December Board of Education public meeting. McDonald says they learned from the Riverside project that “including more milestones in the bids and the contracts to ensure that the contractor has very clear intermediate deadlines” will better track the work is getting done. In preparation, most of the wire for these jobs has already been run at the other three elementary Schools. Switchgears have been delivered and are being positioned outside and the Board hopes to get the new transformers at Littlebrook and Community Park installed before the end of spring break but PPS doesn’t have full control as the transformers are provided and installed by PSE&G. A/C unit installation at those two schools is planned to take place at the close of school this June. To ensure proper access, PSE&G requires the Johnson Park transformer be relocated. At its next meeting the Board plans to vote and finalize the new location so it can get installed (hopefully also during spring break), however, due to its large summer school program and a need to relocate students, Johnson Park’s new HVAC systems won’t be bid until next year and fully installed until summer 2021.

High School Renovations

The high school improvements are hoping to see some momentum this week, with work on the 2^nd level fitness center and four additional classrooms expected to break ground this summer. This is part of the final major project outlined in the PPS referendum, which totals approximately $10,000,000. It also includes high school guidance renovation, drainage and athletic field improvements. The high school project is a bit different than the others, as it’s a full 12-months of work (not a short-term, summer-only plan) and the HS site plans require approval from the state before permits can be issued. PPS is still awaiting this final feedback and the Board is aiming to get bid papers out early April to begin work in June.  Due to safety concerns and the complicated set of projects, the work will be done in pieces through summer 2021.

Expected to be completed this summer, however, is an auxiliary dining space in the high school, though it won’t be funded by the referendum. Final costs for each project have come in a bit higher than estimated. With costs tight, the BOE sought out other ways to get wanted projects completed and found money in an existing Food Service Enterprise Fund to support this new dining option. Upgrades to the HS elevators have been deemed important, but the referendum may not have enough funds to cover them, either. Those funds and other smaller projects may come from the district’s $2.3m Capital Reserve Fund. “Pushing up against the limit of referendum funds is not uncommon,” says McDonald. “But we will continue to do our best to get everything done inside the $26.9m envelope and will not defer anything really core to the referendum.” This issue has prompted some hard questions from constituents but does fall within the law.

What’s next?

The 2018 referendum did not fully solve for Princeton Public Schools growing population. So, could there be another referendum on the horizon? “The District’s current planning process was not designed to give us a new referendum,” says Cochrane, as the district is currently reviewing the use and functionality of existing facilities and evaluating educational needs. In January, they held a public forum where current and future demographic numbers and enrollment forecasts were presented to the public. The data indicates Princeton’s K-8 enrollment has increased 10% already in the past four years and K-12 is projected to grow up to 20% in the next ten. Additionally, 780 of the new Fair Share Housing units will be designed to accommodate families. Updated and more detailed demographic data was also shared with the community on February 27^th. Cochrane says that data was provided to allow us to work together to figure out the best way to address the growth now and for the future. “As of yet, we do not know what those options will be,” he adds. “Some of those options could involve facility improvements; some could involve redrawing our elementary sending areas; some could involve creative changes in our school schedules; and certainly the planning process will produce other options for all of us to consider.” After extremely contentious pushback from some community members through the 2018 referendum planning process, PPS is asking for community input and is collaborating through workshops, informational meetings, focus groups and email blasts.  Additional community meetings were planned for the end of March and April, though with social distancing in place that schedule may get altered. The Board intends to continue this work, despite Superintendent Cochrane’s departure at the end of June. Board of Education President, Beth Behrend shared that “Steve’s departure will be a loss for PPS but our work on major initiatives including planned facilities renovations will continue full speed ahead.” She added the district is committed to finding proper learning spaces for all students and staff.

Anyone in the community that wants to be kept abreast of referendum and planning information but is not part of the Princeton Public School population should send their contact information to Communications@princetonk12.org.

Welcome to Princeton Perspectives! We are excited to share our debut issue with you!

Princeton Perspectives was conceived twelve years ago when Princeton Online (POL) had an idea to create a topical online magazine. POL had found success designing and hosting hyper-local community websites and informing the community about local events and resources. But Peter wanted to take it further – to start a sister site that looked deeper into some of the stories the community was interested in. The idea sat with him for years.

Enter Lisa Jacknow – currently a stay at home mom who had spent years as a television reporter and producer in New York and New Jersey. Lisa had started getting back into journalism and was eager to share stories about the town of Princeton, where she calls home.

As luck would have it, they were introduced by a mutual friend who thought Peter’s vision and Lisa’s talents might be just what Princeton needed. With a shared desire to take a closer look at the things that matter in our town and to our community, the two have now teamed up and created Princeton Perspectives.

Princeton Perspectives will use articles, features and commentary to take an in-depth look at timely information. Delving deep into one topic of interest every issue, our magazine will also feature guest writers from our community who are embedded in the stories they write about.

For our inaugural issue, School 101 – Education in Princeton Today, we decided to focus on current events affecting schools in our town. People world-over know the town of Princeton because we are home to Princeton University. If you include other colleges and institutes, public and private day and boarding schools, Princeton proper alone contains more than 25 schools!

Our Principal’s Perspective: COVID-19 addresses the latest issue affecting education – and nearly everything in our lives. Princeton Perspectives brings you a look from the inside, as local elementary school Principal Dr. Robert Ginsberg shares his experiences as an administrator in this trying time.

Also affecting all tax-paying Princeton residents is the latest Princeton Public Schools referendum, so we are excited to have had the opportunity to work closely with the school district, contractors and community members to stay up-to-date on the projects and bring you PPS Referendum – How’s our Money Being Spent? These projects are moving forward and ever-changing.  The details are here.

Sharing first-hand knowledge from teenagers inside our area high schools is an important lens into the problem of vaping amongst teens. Local municipal substance abuse treatment and prevention agency, Corner House, uses its resources and experience to bring us Princeton Teens and Vaping. It’s an enlightening view about a major national problem.

Early childhood education is another area seeing nationwide trends.  It’s no different here in Princeton, but how are our schools faring? The Changing Landscape of Princeton Preschools examines the way early childhood education is adjusting in our town.

With top-ranked public schools, a thriving Charter school, many options for sought after private schools and alternative options most Princeton families have choices.

Watch The Pulse of Princeton to see what the community is saying about their school choices.

We are excited to launch and look forward to having you along for the ride! Stay tuned for our next issue, One person, One Family, One town – our Roles in Sustainability.