Volume LXXIII, Number 13
Spring Into Health Pages 29-31 Princeton Plasma Physics Hosts Young Women’s Conference . . . . . . . . . .5 Nonprofit C-Change Conversations Steers Clear of Politics . . . . . . . . . . .13 A Journey Through the Kafka Diaries . . . . . . . .16 NJSO Concert Features 19th-Century Music . . .17 PU Women’s Hoops Fights Hard in Loss to Kentucky in NCAAs . . . . . . . . . . 33 PHS Alumna Reilly Feeling at Home Taking Helm of Tiger Girls’ Lax . . . . . . 38
Karen Uhlenbeck, IAS Mathematics Visitor, wins Abel Prize . . . . . . . . . . 10 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Berkshire Hathaway Fox & Roach Realtors . .24, 25 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 28 Classified Ads . . . . . . 43 Dining & Entertainment . . . 26 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Music/Theater . . . . . . 18 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 42 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 4 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 43 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 42 School Matters . . . . . . 12 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . 6
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Jessica Baxter, Next PHS Principal, To Prioritize Wellness
Princeton High School (PHS) Assistant Principal Jessica Baxter knows that her school is strong academically, but she also knows that PHS needs to continue its progress to become a more healthy school for all. Appointed last week as the next principal of PHS, Baxter will be leading the school as it grows and changes to meet the challenges of the coming years. Baxter has been a leader over the past two years in implementing the Challenge Success student survey and following up on the results that showed PHS students experiencing high levels of stress, low levels of joyful engagement with learning, and serious sleep deprivation. “We were a strong school academically, but we weren’t so healthy,” Baxter said. “We were trying to focus on wellness, and our kids were not feeling well. They were feeling over-scheduled, overworked, and stressed out. It was manifesting in different ways. We were seeing kids missing school, kids not enjoying classes, and lacking engagement in the learning process.” Baxter observed, “This is a wonderful staff to work with,” as she pointed out some of the changes that have been implemented. “Now we have a later start time and a block schedule with a mix of longer periods and shorter periods. We’re also looking at curriculum and instruction and how we’re using space around the school. In addition to the traditional paper-and-pen tests, we want to have more problem-based learning and performance-based assessments.” She noted that the new schedule allows for more options for teacher planning and more depth of study on certain days. Science classes have always had lab periods, but now English classes have a writing lab. “So our teachers are really enjoying the changes and the opportunities to approach learning in different ways,” Baxter said. As principal, starting when Gary Snyder retires at the end of this school year, Baxter looks forward to building on the changes of the past two years. “I want to help the momentum of those changes in a positive way and to keep up the work that we’re trying to do right now.” She added, “I love the students and the families here. It will be nice to work with them in a different role.” Continued on Page 11
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Wednesday, March 27, 2019
“Shock and Outrage” Over Rider Contract Documents released last week by the New Jersey Attorney General’s office have revealed that Rider University’s proposed sale of Westminster Choir College, with which it merged in 1991, would allow the buyer to close the music school at any time after the sale. This calls into question the University’s repeated assurances that the buyer, a Chinese company known as Kaiwen Education, would continue to operate Westminster for five years after the sale and maintain it for 10 years. Since the sale of the renowned music school to Kaiwen was announced last year, Rider has declined to provide access to the terms of the contract. But the Westminster Foundation and Princeton Theological Seminary, both of which are suing Westminster in opposition to the sale, recently filed an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, and the documents were released. They contain language stating that Kaiwen would be allowed to close Westminster any time after it is sold, if it decides that operating the college is “impracticable” or “economically unfeasible.”
“That is lawyers’ language for allowing them total discretion to close the college,” said Bruce Afran, the attorney representing the Foundation. “It’s obvious this is the reason Rider was keeping the agreement confidential. They’ve been misleading the public as to the true nature of the sale.” Rider president Gregory Dell’Omo has repeatedly assured the Westminster and Rider communities that Kaiwen, which is partially operated by the Chinese government, had promised to keep all
Westminster programs intact for five years and maintain the 22-acre Princeton campus for 10. Asked for comment on the released documents, Rider issued a statement saying its board “has worked ceaselessly to find a partner to operate WCC and ultimately determined that the transaction proposed by the current buyer was the best opportunity to preserve WCC in Princeton.” Continued on Page 8
Witherspoon-Jackson Plans Weekend To Celebrate History, Culture, Community
Princeton’s Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood is due to be spruced up and celebrated at a two-day festival planned for the weekend of May 18 and 19. Starting with a neighborhood-wide clean-up on Saturday, the town’s 20th historic district will hold a day of special events, and everyone is invited. “We want to share the history and culture of our neighborhood,” said longtime resident Leighton Newlin, who chairs the
Princeton Housing Authority. “But the most important thing is to generate enthusiasm throughout the neighborhood, so people can get to know each other. We’ll celebrate our history by taking the time to clean it up, making it look good, and taking pride in it.” The Witherspoon-Jackson Welcome Weekend is co-sponsored by the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Continued on Page 12
WORLD WATER CELEBRATION: Mermaid Brizo read stories; explained what she does to keep water clean, safe, and healthy; and stamped the Water Passports of participants at Saturday’s World Water Day event at The Watershed Institute in Pennington . Exhibits, demonstrations, games, hikes, and tours were also featured . Participants share how they raised their “Water IQ” in this week’s Town Talk on Page 6 . (Photo by Charles R. Plohn)