To the Editor:

We moved to Princeton for a number of reasons. Top of our lists was the school system. Academic excellence, strong arts programs, and diverse student population — all proved to be true. But in our quests to advocate for our children we found the system sorely lacking in support of academic excellence for their learning styles. So together we are speaking to parents, teachers, administrators, counselors, and more. What we found was that we were not alone.

Student/school/parent communication should be easier! In response, our group Parents Supporting All Learners is reaching out to the community for support. Help us create change in the Princeton Public School System. If you care about:

STUDENTS’ ORGANIZATIONAL BURDEN AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS: The executive functions required for a student to manage the antiquated system of paper calendars, daily handouts, binders, notes, and homework are simply not developed by middle school and even high school for a large population of students. There are affordable electronic solutions that many school systems and charter schools have implemented.

TEACHING TO ALL CHILDREN: There are no developed strategies in place to support students who learn better through discussion, interaction, movement, video learning, or some other modern, non-lecture-based teaching. Luckily we have many creative teachers but that is not enough.

TREATMENT OF STUDENTS LABELED WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT: The Center for Disease Control estimates there are potentially 300-400 or more students in the system with an Attention Deficit diagnosis. A sizeable population yet there are no policies to educate teachers or to communicate with parents on the subject.

KNOWING HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR STUDENT: There are no clearly communicated guidelines for parents to navigate student services. Information on applicable laws, programs available, and allocation of relevant funds, are not easily found and should be. In addition, educators and guidance staff should not be recommending medication. They are simply not qualified to do so.

Parents Supporting All Learners is a group of parents working to effect change in the Princeton Public School System. Our schools need to step up to the plate and make structural changes to support all students in learning to their full potential. The Academic Achievement Board has heard us, now we need the leverage of parents.

We teach our children to accept and even celebrate their differences. Their classmates may look different from them, speak different languages, play differently, mature differently, and love differently. Why then can’t we fully embrace that they learn differently?

We are reaching out for your support. Please find information at Parents Supporting All Learners on Facebook and join our group.

Beth Hamilton

Linwood Circle

Jill Burd

Broadripple Drive