Cranbury Looks at Next Princeton High School Class

Representatives from Princeton spoke about what the transition would be like for Cranbury's eight-grade students as they go to  at the Dec. 7  meeting.

On average, 70 Cranbury students move on to Princeton each year, joining a building that has over 1,400 students. Princeton Superintendent Judith Wilson reassured the three-dozen parents in the audience that the size of the high school may seem overwhelming, but the staff works hard to keep the education intimate.

"Our goal is to know every individual child well so that we can support their needs," she said.

Principal Gary Snyder echoed these sentiments and noted that Princeton High School has a dean of students whose main responsibility is looking after incoming freshmen. In this capacity, the dean is asked to find the 100 freshmen who need the most help and offer them support until they get settled.

Snyder went on to point out some of the new aspects of Princeton's school day, including an altered bell schedule that offers a longer lunch period. Lunch is now earlier in the day and lasts 30 minutes, which is five minutes longer than previous years. Princeton has also added one minute to each instructional period. This was made possible by replacing the daily 12-minute homeroom period with a 17-minute weekly period. Snyder also mentioned that the high school's 20-year-old peer group program has been updated to incorporate new technologies that students use, such as Facebook and text messaging.

Despite these updates the Princeton superintendent, admitted Princeton wasn't immune to the budget restrictions imposed on school districts statewide. Wilson approximated that her district opened this school year with a budget of $3 million less than last year. Despite this disparity in funds, Wilson said the impact on the high school was "probably less than it was on the K-8 levels."

Angela Siso, Princeton's Supervisor of Guidance Services, also spoke at the meeting and highlighted the school's Idea Center, which is "a full-service, all-day and after-school tutoring center." Siso said she and her guidance staff stress three main objectives to the students: academic achievement, career and post-secondary planning, and effectively managing the social aspect of high school.

As for the future of Princeton and Cranbury's send/receive relationship, Wilson said it remains a strong alliance.

"This is a long-term partnership that was just renewed in the last few months," she said. "It's a solid, codependent and I think co-beneficiary relationship that we enjoy with Cranbury."

Snyder summed up his thoughts on the high school by referencing the Academic Honor Code the high school's motto—"Live to Learn and Learn to Live."

"We want to prepare our students academically," Snyder said, "but also to be good people."