The school next door: Princeton's little tiger

Located less than a mile off the University campus is an institution that is among the best of its kind. There, students study geometry and world history rather than higher math, theology or quantum physics.

Princeton High School shares family ties with the University, with the children of many faculty and the siblings of some undergraduates attending the high school. And, accordingly, the successes of each are intertwined.

"The arm of the University reaches out into the high school quite a bit," said James Riordan, director of guidance at PHS. "The relationship was well-established long before I got here."

But PHS, located not too far behind Nassau Street by the E-Quad, is a highly regarded school in its own right. "We have a phenomenal breed of students," Riordan said. "They're highly motivated, competitive, insightful and so talented."

PHS routinely sends more students to Ivy League universities than any public high school in the country, Riordan said. Roughly one dozen PHS graduates are admitted to the University each year, while many others head to similarly distinguished institutions of higher learning. According to the 2002 New Jersey School Report Card, 86 percent of the graduating class last year went on to two- or four-year colleges.

PHS also boasted the highest average SAT score in the state until this year, when it was edged out by Millburn Senior High by one point.

It is not a coincidence that a successful high school resides in the backyard of a successful University.

Charlotte Bialek, president of the Board of Education of Princeton Regional Schools, attributes the success of PHS to the type of people who are drawn to the academic community.

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"We have an outstanding student body with very supportive, very involved parents," she said.

Bialek's two daughters attend PHS, and her husband is a physics professor at the University. The parents of dozens of PHS students are faculty members at the University, and many others work at the Princeton Theological Seminary, the Institute for Advanced Study or other think tanks and universities in the area.

"The University brings us a lot of our students, through regular faculty, as well as graduate students and post-docs," Bialek said. "As a result, our high school has a tremendous diversity of kids."

A recent survey, she said, found that the families of PHS students spoke 55 different languages in their homes.

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Bialek said that although PHS's curriculum is very strong, one cannot underestimate the benefit of diversity. "To me, where your peers are from and what they are thinking and what their cultures are [is] sometimes as important as what you're learning in classes," Bialek said.

Bialek and Riordan both credited the faculty and administration with contributing to the success of PHS. "The teachers here are some of the finest I've ever encountered," Riordan said. "They're dedicated, talented and highly recognized, within and outside of the community."

Annie Rorem, a senior at PHS, has been in the Princeton school district since first grade. She said that a strong support network exists at the school. "The faculty is really willing to talk to students," she said. "Their doors are always open."

PHS's faculty salaries were roughly $13,000 more than the state median in the 1997-98 school year, but since then their salaries have nearly come down to state levels, according to the New Jersey School Report Card. In that time the faculty's median experience has also dropped from 15 years to nine.

PHS also spends about $2,000 more per student than the average high school in New Jersey.

Its proximity to the University also allows it to make available opportunities and resources that most high schools cannot offer.

Students from PHS and other local schools who have maintained a high GPA and have exhausted the school's curriculum in a particular subject can elect to take courses at the University for a nominal registration fee.

Administered by the Program in Teacher Preparation, the program comprises 37 students this semester, most of whom are taking math courses. Others are taking classes in computer science, physics, French and Spanish.

"This is an opportunity that the University extends to its neighbors, so that it is responsive to the community in which it resides," said John Webb, director of the Program in Teacher Preparation.

Rorem took MAT 201 last semester after completing AP Calculus BC junior year. "It was a great experience," she said. "I think I will have a running start for college because I understand that the workload is much higher . . . and I learned about the way I learn."

Rorem, whose parents work at the Princeton Theological Seminary, said that even students who do not have family members directly affiliated with the University are affected by its presence.

PHS students who take courses at the University are issued PUIDs enabling them to make use of facilities such as Dillon Gym and Firestone Library. Some students were even able to buy tickets for the Goo Goo Dolls concert last fall.

"We're pretty fortunate to have the resources that it provides — not only physical resources such as the library and the gym, but also the brainpower there," she said. "It's pretty amazing to have that in your hometown.

The University collaborates with Princeton Regional Schools on many other projects. The Program in Teacher Preparation runs the Princeton University Preparatory Program, founded by sociology professor Miguel Centeno in July 2001.

The program tries to compensate for "an alarming statistic regarding the number of students from working-class families who gain admission to highly selective colleges," Webb explained.

PUPP provides financially disadvantaged students from Princeton, Ewing and Trenton High Schools yearlong academic support and an intensive summer program.

The relationship between the high school and the University is mutually beneficial. Webb said Princeton Regional Schools act as a "laboratory setting" for the Program in Teacher Preparation. University students do site-based work in the school district prior to actually practicing teaching.

"We recognize that we rely on the expertise and the willingness of the professionals in Princeton Regional Schools to share with our students," Webb said. "Our hope is that we can, in some way, return to that community in kind."

The Teachers as Scholars and QUEST programs, which seek to educate elementary and secondary school teachers, both involve faculty at Princeton Regional Schools.

Since 1995 the University has given $500,000 to the Princeton Regional Schools, including for the renovation of the high school's library. It has also supplied much of the technological capabilities in the schools.

Bialek said that the University does more than enough for the community through donations and in-kind gifts, making up for the University's tax-exempt status.

But the opportunities the University provides do not make all PHS students want to attend Princeton.

Rorem, who said she hopes to be a premed at Williams College next year, is not applying to the University. "For me, it is home," she said. "I've done it all too many times."

She said that students usually find themselves at one extreme or the other when it comes time to think about colleges. For some, Princeton is their top choice; others do not even consider it.

"It puts considerable stress on the students because so many have the expectation that they will be going to a university of the caliber of Princeton," Bialek said.

The sum result of the University's presence, however, is an atmosphere conducive to learning.

"Every school reflects its community," Webb said. "In part because of the impact of University, there is a community that values education and . . . has the resources to be able to invest in the education of its children."