Princeton Young Achievers Welcomes New Executive Director

Candace Braun

If you want to be part of the Princeton way of life, you need to get a job in town.

That was Nichelle Hill's thinking when she applied for the position of executive director of the Princeton Young Achievers organization. A few weeks ago, she got her wish.

"I wanted to live in the Princeton area, and I always work where I live. So, [getting this job] was my first step," said Ms. Hill.

The new director and her husband, Quincy Hill Sr., started to think about moving when their son, Quincy Jr., 4 years old, reached school-age.

"The educational standards are higher here than in other school districts," she said. "I would like my family to be part of that."

Ms. Hill is currently a resident of Willingboro, but she hopes to move to Princeton soon so that her son can attend the public schools.

Ms. Hill has been in fund development for more than 12 years. She began her journey with disadvantaged families while she was attending college at Monmouth University, studying for a teaching degree in special education. There, she was the site manager at three different group homes for disabled individuals.

"I have always been an advocate for disadvantaged families," she said.

In addition, Ms. Hill has been executive director of COPE, an organization that helps parents of children with special needs. She was also a coordinator for No Child Left Behind. Before taking this position, she served as executive director for Willingboro Board of Education.

Currently, she is a fund development consultant for several organizations in the Burlington-Philadelphia area. Which is why PYA, which focuses on helping children, seems to be the perfect fit for Ms. Hill.

Princeton Young Achievers was first established in 1993 as a partnership between the Princeton Regional Schools, the Housing Authority of Princeton and Princeton Community Housing. The program provides children from low to moderate income households with after-school and summer programs. The organizers and volunteers work to create opportunities for parental involvement in their child's education, along with inspiring children to develop a love of learning.

Through PYA, children in low-income housing have the opportunity to attend programs at their neighborhood center Monday through Thursday, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The program, which serves over 150 students, operates from three locations with computer centers, including the Hank F. Pannell Learning Center on Clay Street, Redding Circle, and Princeton Community Village in Princeton Township. In addition, a summer program is offered each year from July through August.

According to Ms. Hill, some of the activities the students work on in the program are literacy projects, homework and preparation for student aptitude tests. She said that PYA likes to keep a small student-to-teacher ratio, so that each child has individual attention.

Many people contribute to the leadership responsibilities in the program, including teachers from different schools in the district, and teaching assistants from Princeton and Rutgers universities.

"We get a lot of co-op students and volunteers from [Princeton University]," said Ms. Hill. "We have a lot of volunteers, but we always need more."

One of the new executive director's goals is to bring more volunteers to the program so that each child may have as much attention as possible. In addition, she said she would like to extend the after-school program to Friday afternoons, along with expanding the summer program.

Ms. Hill said she has big plans for the summer program. She wants to bring in corporate sponsors to teach children some basic projects and help them see what they will be able to accomplish later on if they take their studies seriously now.

"Children have to know how to read and write," noted Ms. Hill. "But if they see what will come from studying hard, they will have more motivation to succeed."

The PYA director added that while parents of the children involved must pay a small registration fee, most of the money to fund the program comes from the community.

"The school district is one of the many funders that we have," she said. "We have over 100 community partners who have given a lot of different things to us... The Princeton community funds us."

Among the community groups that fund the organization are Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Stony Brook Watershed, Palmer Square and McCarter Theatre. Currently PYA has received over $48,000 in support from individuals throughout the area.