Volume LXX, Number 49
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Acclaimed DLI Program Flourishes at CP School, Will Expand Next Year
Teaching Team Featured in This Week’s Profiles in Education . . . . . . . . . . 9 Council Approves Waxwood Developer’s Request for March Extension . . . . . . . . . 13 Tiger Women’s Hoops Rolls Past Seton Hall . . 31 PHS Star Runner Roth, PDS Soccer Goalie Barbara Earn Nod as Town Topics’ Leading Fall Performers . . . . . . . . 33
Getting to Know the Essential Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) . . . . . . . 20 Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . 27 Cinema . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Classified Ads. . . . . . . 41 Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Music/Theater . . . . . . 21 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . 39 Police Blotter . . . . . . . . 4 Real Estate . . . . . . . . 41 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Topics of the Town . . . . 5 Town Talk . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The successful Dual Language Immersion Program at Community Park School will be an ongoing initiative in the district, after last month’s unanimous affirmation by the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education. Started as a pilot initiative at the beginning of the 2015-16 year for sections in kindergarten and first grade, the program expanded to second grade, with 43 kindergarteners, 41 first graders, and 38 second graders. It is scheduled to include K-3 in 2017-18, K-4 in 2018-19, and K-5 with full implementation in 2019-20. “Dual Language Immersion has made us a better school,” said Community Park principal Dineen Gruchacz. “Our teachers are finding new ways to collaborate, and Spanish has become part of our school’s fabric, woven into our school meetings, morning announcements, and student-led conferences.” Students in the program, all voluntarily enrolled by their parents, learn half the day in Spanish and half the day in English. Similar to other DLI plans that are becoming increasingly popular throughout the country, the Community Park program has demonstrated advantages for both native and non-native speakers. In this 50/50 DLI model the students learn Spanish language arts, math, and science in Spanish and social studies and language arts in English. By alternating between the two languages, students develop flexibility and resiliency in thinking and problem solving, as well as gaining fluency in both languages. “Research supports that the DLI program raises the level of performance for all students across all subjects,” observed superintendent Steve Cochrane. “It is a remarkable program with significant potential to help us close the achievement gap.” PPS world languages and ESL supervisor Priscilla Russel, who proposed the immersion program after investigating research on the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, noted, “We see a higher level of proficiency in the second language; and there is also evidence of enhanced cognitive skills and improved academic performance.” School board member Betsy Baglio, who has a child in the DLI program, stated that the program gives students a
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Wednesday, December 7, 2016
PPS Unhappy With Charter School Expansion Plans
Princeton Charter School has applied to the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) to expand its enrollment by 76 students next year, a proposal that Princeton Public Schools (PPS) superintendent Steve Cochrane has claimed would drain funds from PPS and ”compromise the quality of our students’ education.” Noting that the PCS plan was “a complete shock to all of us,” PPS board president Andrea Spalla stated, “The unvarnished, undeniable truth is that the proposal, if approved by the state Commissioner of Education, would be financially devastating to our six public schools.” PCS, in disputing Mr. Cochrane’s contention that the PCS expansion would result in an annual loss of $1.38M to the district, argued that their plan would help to address PPS overcrowding and educate those 76 students for less money, $15,300 per student as opposed to the district’s expenditure of $24,000 per student. “With the town of Princeton experiencing a significant spike in enrollment due to new residential developments coming online,” the PCS response to Mr. Cochrane stated, “the PPS district has already acknowledged the need to expand its facilities to accommodate many new students in the community. This proposal, if approved, will allow PCS to absorb a significant number of the new students and
give them a great educational option.” In addition to its proposal to expand from one class to two classes in kindergarten, first grade and second grade and to add two spots in each of grades three through eight, the PCS application also requests an amendment to the PCS charter to allow it to implement a weighted lottery that would give an advantage in admissions to economically disadvantaged students.
Mr. Cochrane disputed the financial figures set forth in the PCS proposal. ”Contrary to what some have claimed,” he stated, ”under no scenario would the PCS trustees’ proposed expansion save our taxpayers money. While the district would have to pay PCS an additional $1.16 million in tuition annually for the additional 76 students who transfer there, the district will not realize any cost savings. Why? Continued on Page 8
Former Location of SAVE To Be Site of Office Building At a meeting of Princeton’s Planning Board last week, developer Charles Yedlin received approval to put an office building on the site of the former headquarters of a longtime animal shelter. The Herrontown Road location was home to SAVE, a Friend to Homeless Animals, for 74 years before the organization moved to a 10-acre expanse in Skillman in August, 2015. The board’s unanimous vote came at a hearing continued from one held at a meeting on October 20. Mr. Yedlin has proposed a 25,000-square-foot building for the site at 900 Herrontown Road, which he bought from SAVE last August.
The land is bordered by an office building also owned by Mr. Yedlin, and single family homes and townhouses on Mount Lucas Road and Old Orchard Lane. Acting on concerns from homeowners, Mr. Yedlin revised the plan to provide a 40-foot buffer on his property, and 10 feet of buffer on an adjacent property. Additional landscaping and relocation of handicapped parking were also part of the reworked proposal. “The setbacks are now closer, and we think this an excellent solution to the problem that was raised,” said Thomas M. Letizia, the attorney representing the Continued on Page 10
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