Volume LXXII, Number 29
Health and Wellness Pages 13-21 Girls’ Motivational Program Leads to Conference for Boys . . . 5 Bainbridge House Could Reopen Next Year . . . . 7 Town Takes Ownership of Herrontown Woods . . . 9 Whitman, Twain, and Crane Step Up to the Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Summer Theater Presents Uncommon Women and Others . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Final Concert of Cone Composition Institute . 29 PHS Grad Stough Finds Home with Georgetown Women’s Lightweight Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Princeton Post 218 Legion Baseball Produces Solid Finish . . . . . . . . 35
PU Alum Currier at World Lax Championships . . 32 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .24, 25 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 31 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Classified Ads . . . . . . 41 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Music/Theater . . . . . . 28 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 38 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 4 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Schools’ Equity Audit Reveals Positive Start, Much Work to Be Done An equity audit of Princeton Public Schools (PPS) has cited significant strengths along with a range of issues and disparities that the district needs to address. Initiated by PPS “in response to known and suspected educational inequities and gaps between the district’s mission and students’ day-to-day school experiences,” the audit noted continuing “raciallypredictable disparities in achievement data, a perception of disparities in discipline and academic expectations, a difference between various identities’ sense of welcoming and belonging, challenges in addressing incidents of oppression and bias, and a strong sense of academic pressure and competition.” The audit, conducted by Due East Educational Equity Collaborative and led by consultant Marceline Du Boise, who presented the results at last night’s Board of Education meeting, highlighted “the main observations that the district’s stated commitment to equity, strong academic outcomes, and a budding commitment to culturally responsive curriculum and instruction serve as a base on which more effort around educational equity should take place.” The Educational Equity Culture and Curriculum Audit included reviews of district policies and analysis of academic and discipline data. It connected with more than 2,800 PPS community members through focus groups and surveys that heard from nearly 50 percent of all households, all high school students, and a majority of PPS faculty and staff. Viewing the audit as another “important step in an ongoing process to help us achieve our equity goals,” PPS Superintendent Steve Cochrane claimed that the audit report “will inform our continuing efforts to diversify our curriculum, diversify our staff, overcome bias, and foster inclusion.” He cited positive steps taken in recent years in hiring — educators of color constituted 44 percent of educators hired last year — and in curriculum reform to “transform the dialogue, to present not just the dominant narrative, but also the non-dominant narrative.” Cochrane noted, “For me, equity is fundamentally about relationships. With more educators of color the shift really Continued on Page 8
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Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Hodge Road House Fire Under Investigation
A three-alarm fire caused significant damage and minor injuries to two firefighters at a house on Hodge Road in Princeton’s Western Section late Monday night. No one was inside the 5,802-square-foot home at 140 Hodge Road when the fire was reported at about 11:50 p.m. The blaze was on the second and third floors of the nine-bedroom home, and burned through the roof. Four EMS units, three rescue units, and 19 fire departments from across the area responded to the alarm, after a neighbor reported to the Princeton Fire Department that flames and smoke were coming from the back of the house. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Because it went to three alarms, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office was automatically called in along with the Princeton Police Department and Princeton Fire Department. One firefighter from Lawrence Township was treated and released for respiratory issues, and another had a badly cut finger. “It was a very hot night. I can tell you because I was one of the first in,” said Bob Gregory, director of emergency services for the Princeton Fire Department. “The humidity and the heat were significant. It was a tough night. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of people to put
the fire out.” Gregory said the condition of the house will have to be assessed by an engineer or architecture firm. “There are issues with those old houses. It was built in the 1920s, with heavy timber construction. The walls were plaster on mesh wire. They had to break through the walls with sledgehammers.” The house was previously owned by Princeton neurosurgeon Dr. Edward Von Der Schmidt. “It was vacant. He left in January,” said Amy Stavin-Strang,
Southern New Jersey asset manager for Carrington Real Estate Services, which holds the note for the property. “The bank owned it but never foreclosed. Dr. Von Der Schmidt had tried to sell it for eight years, but no one bought it. Then he decided to deed it back to the bank, which has had it on the market since last November.” A listing on the real estate website Zillow describes the house as Colonial Revival, designed in 1922. It has nine bedrooms and six bathrooms and sits Continued on Page 4
PPS Prepared to Support Two-Question Referendum Proposal for November Vote At last night’s meeting, which took place after press time, the Princeton Board of Education (BOE) seemed prepared to support the latest referendum proposal from its facilities committee, calling for two questions on the ballot. Question No. 1 would include improvements at all the elementary schools; construction of a new 5/6 school at Valley Road; the purchase of property at Thanet Road for central administration, transportation, and maintenance; security improvements; HVAC and other infrastructure improvements; an athletic field at Valley Road; a few additional high school
classrooms; a second floor over the high school fitness center; and renovations to the guidance area — at a projected cost of $82,528,490. Question No. 2 would include the balance of the high school expansion, an additional high school athletic field, and additional high school upgrades — at a projected cost of $47,086,435. The first question must pass in order for the second question to pass, with BOE President Patrick Sullivan and Superintendent Steve Cochrane both noting the district’s need for all of the construction Continued on Page 7
THREE ALARMS: Two firefighters sustained minor injuries in the three-alarm blaze at 140 Hodge Road on Monday night . But damage to the nine-bedroom mansion, which was empty and has been on and off the market for years, was considerable . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)
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