CLOSING ACHIEVEMENT GAPS: Students in Christina Maloney’s preschool class at Johnson Park School are learning fast in preparation for kindergarten. Princeton Public Schools has announced that it will be opening four new preschools in September 2023. (Photo courtesy of Princeton Public Schools)

By Donald Gilpin

High quality preschools have proven to be a key element in closing achievement gaps for students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and Princeton Public Schools (PPS) has announced that it will be expanding its free public preschool program in September 2023 by adding four new classes and increasing the number of preschool students from 90 to 150.

“High quality preschools —they have to be high quality — is a game changer in terms of equity,” said PPS Supervisor of Preschool and Special Projects Valerie Ulrich. “Kids who otherwise would not have exposure to that kind of environment come into kindergarten already with an achievement gap. By offering free public preschool, especially for families that come from those kinds of backgrounds, we close that achievement gap before it even starts in kindergarten.”

The PPS began expanding its preschool program in 2019 when the district gained preschool expansion aid from the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) through a competitive process. High quality preschool has been a priority of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, and the NJDOE will be providing $3 million in additional preschool aid to support the four new classrooms.

Ulrich added that money invested in high quality early childhood programs pays off in the long run, with fewer kids needing special education or extra support in reading or elsewhere in the elementary school program.

PPS Superintendent of Schools Carol Kelley emphasized the importance of early attention to students’ needs and the value of community partnerships that have come together to make this preschool expansion possible.

“I am thrilled that we will be able to significantly expand our successful preschool program,” she said. “One of our key goals is to support the needs of our early learners, ages 3 to grade three. We are fortunate to have strong community partners in this endeavor.”

In September new preschool classes will be offered at Redding Circle and at the Pannell Learning Center on Clay Street in partnership with the Princeton Housing Authority (PHA) and the YMCA; at the Princeton Community Family Learning Center at All Saints’ Church; and at the Community Park School. 

District preschool programs are currently in operation at Johnson Park and Riverside Schools and at the Burke Foundation Early Childhood Center at the Princeton YWCA. In addition, at the Marcy T. Crimmins Learning Center in Princeton Community Village there is a district preschool program operated by the YMCA.

“Our preschool expansion will enable our school district to provide our early learners with what they need to develop to their full academic and social potential,” Kelley said.

Building on the success of its collaboration with Princeton Community Housing and the YMCA at the Crimmins Center, where the program is in its second year, PPS and the Princeton Housing Authority will be working to renovate two community rooms at Redding Circle and the Pannell Learning Center, as well as provisioning those spaces with furniture and materials and hiring high quality teachers and instructional assistants.

“Both places need significant renovations in order to be licensed by the state to provide preschool there,” said Ulrich. “We’ve worked with PHA and its chairperson Felicia Spitz, and she pulled together grants and funds. I don’t know how she did it, but it was enough money to renovate both spaces, including a whole side yard next to Pannell to be a playground space for the kids. It’s going to be amazing, beautiful.” 

Ulrich noted the value of placing classrooms directly within affordable housing locations in order to bring high quality, free school to the families that need it most.

“We at the Princeton Housing Authority are excited about our partnership with the Princeton Public Schools,” said Spitz. “We are looking forward to seeing more children in the Princeton community have access to high-quality preschool programs and thrilled that we will be able to host two of those classrooms. If we all work together and lend our respective resources, we can make Princeton an even better place for children to grow and thrive.”

The new preschool class at Community Park (CP) will be a dual-language immersion class for 4-year-olds. CP is currently a dual language immersion school, where children are taught in both Spanish and English all day. 

The fourth new preschool, run in partnership with the Princeton Community Family Learning Center on the All Saints’ church campus in the Littlebrook neighborhood, will be a mixed-age classroom of 3- and 4-year-olds and will join the Cub School, which currently serves more than 30 students, according to Cub School Director Lori Musa.

“We are excited about hosting a district classroom that will bring new young families to our preschool,” said Musa. “We will continue to serve our current families in the same capacity as the last 12 years, while embracing the district program in dedicated space.”

Ulrich noted that the district is pleased to have a preschool in the Littlebrook neighborhood for the first time and also excited that the All Saints’ Church has endorsed the partnership and is funding necessary renovations to bring the classroom up to standard. 

“I want to emphasize how integral and appreciated our partners are,” said Ulrich. “This has been a townwide effort. It could not have been done without the PHA, the YWCA, the YMCA, and local providers. It’s the community coming together to serve the children of Princeton, and that’s very exciting.”

In the past there has been a strong demand for free preschool education and there have been waiting lists for all preschool classes. “But by being able to have 150 seats now, I won’t be turning away kids at the rate I used to,” said Ulrich. Depending on demand there may be a lottery in the coming year, but any family that qualifies for the federal free and reduced price lunch program will get priority placement in preschool.

Information sessions on free public preschool for the 2023-24 school year will be held in January and February for interested families. In the meantime further information will be posted on the district website at princetonk12.org.

“We can feel the energy here about being able to expand on our successes and take the preschools further,” said Ulrich. “This is community at its finest.”