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(1/20/12 update: Teachers reached a tentative agreement with the Princeton Regional Schools on Thurday night. Union members are set to meet next Wednesday and then take a vote on it later in the week.  The tentative agreement also has to be ratified by the Board of Education.  The next open Board Meeting is next Tuesday, Jan. 24.)

Eva Mantell loves teaching art.  “When students aren’t expecting to come up with anything good, and they are engaged and surprised by what they’ve created, it feels great. I find it very energizing.”

Lidia Usami is more than an economist, speechwriter, publicist, translator, pianist, piano teacher, and fluent in five languages -- she is also the founder of the Kids4Kids charitable program in Princeton. “Music needs to be played to uplift people’s spirits,” says Lidia, “and to do something for the community.”
 

Lina Wertmuller directed this 1994 film about a northern Italian teacher who gets dumped in a southern Italian town due to a bureaucratic mixup. His journey from initial disappointment (only three students show up) to establishing a bond with the students is the focus of this touching, often funny feature. Make an evening out of it with dinner at Mediterra, at 5:30 p.m. A three course themed menu will be offered for $30 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Call 609. 252.9680 for reservations

Riverside School fifth graders dedicated proceeds from their annual read-a-thon to the Crisis Ministry food pantry.   The idea to donate this year’s collection of funds followed a project to grow food in the school garden to donate to the food pantry, housed in Nassau Presbyterian Church.

Grade 5 teacher Stacey Tuliszewski explained that every year the fifth grade students gather pledges for pages or books read. “This year fifth graders read 14,000 pages and earned $1,000,”  Mrs. Tuliszewski said.

Dorothy Mullen, well-known in the Princeton community for masterminding the Riverside Elementary School organic garden, has been a food activist for much of her adult life.

At the John Witherspoon Middle School teacher's parking lot on Guyot Avenue, rain or shine.

A Task Force report unveiled last month by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recommends making student test performance an important criterion in teacher evaluation. While that would reflect well on Princeton teachers, it runs counter to the approach adopted by Princeton Regional Schools. Princeton Charter School, on the other hand, has expressed measured support for Christie’s reforms.

April is National Poetry Month and in Princeton this means a new issue of U.S.1 Worksheets, the (now) annual poetry journal of U.S.1 Poets’ Cooperative.  Last Sunday, April 3, the community room of the Princeton Public Library was packed to capacity, as poets gathered to celebrate the arrival of Volume 56 of U.S.1 Worksheets, featuring the work of 98 local and regional poets.

Nilanjana Banerjee, a performer, teacher, and lifelong devotee of the traditional Indian dance form Odissi, will talk about its history and demonstrate its unique style. Odissi, a 2,000-year-old dance form that is closely linked to yoga, brings to life the sculptures of ancient India.

Max, 14, did not like middle school.  But he still wants to go to college.

Instead of continuing with 9th grade, Max goes to the Princeton Learning Cooperative (PLC), located in a sun-lit room on the third floor of the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts on Witherspoon Street.  A snapshot of his activities includes Python programming, building robots, and reading English novels.  Once a week, he helps out with organizational work at Snipes Farm and Educational Center.

February 25, 2011—NUMINA GALLERY, Princeton High School presents ”Artist–Teacher Show”, an exhibition showcasing for the first time, twenty-two local artists who teach in Princeton and the surrounding area. Artists come from the Arts Council of Princeton, Grounds for Sculpture, Princeton High School, Stuart Country Day School, and Princeton Day School. Some artists also teach independently in the community. Media includes painting, sculpture, photography, prints, stained glass, and mixed media.   

Saying that New Jersey does a “spectacularly lousy job of teacher evaluation”,  N.J. Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf unveiled a set of proposals to radically change the way in which teachers are evaluated, paid, and tenured.

Leslie-Bernard Joseph, Dean of Students at Coney Island Prep, tells about his sixth grade student who, unable to answer any questions on a quiz, had simply written “I need help” instead of an answer. Joseph keeps the note in his office to remind himself of his mission as a teacher.

Joseph - a 2006 Princeton alumnus – was part of a panel discussion titled “Education as the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time,” which discussed educational reform in the United States and the role of undergraduates in the reform movement.

Tuesday Technology Talk: Web 2.0 Classroom Tools

Princeton voters have agreed to a 3.9% tax hike to support next year's $71 million school budget.  The budget passed by more than 2-to-1, a significant margin, given that more than half of NJ municipalities rejected their school budgets yesterday. (see Packet coverage of district-by-district results)