On Friday, March 17th at 5:30 p.m., Superintendent Carol Kelley and the Board of Education sent an email to all PPS community members stating that PHS was to undergo a leadership transition and Assistant Principals Cecilia Birge and Rashone Johnson were to temporarily assume the responsibilities of the PHS principal as of that afternoon. Former Principal Frank Chmiel was not mentioned within the email, nor was there any rationale articulated by the administration for his suspected dismissal.

Immediately following the announcement, Student Body President Ashley Chen ’23 created a petition on Change.org titled “Chmiel Has Been Fired. We demand transparency and that the Board rescind his termination.” In the petition—which has now garnered nearly 3,000 signatures—Chen and other officers of the club Cultural and Racial Equity (C.A.R.E) voiced their disappointment and anger that the process and reasoning for the decision was not shared.

“Well, I think that was a really good way to get people’s frustration and sentiments out… With the C.A.R.E. leaders, we all agreed that we should do something about the sudden abruptness of it, and I think a lot of people agree because a lot of people did sign the petition,” Chen said. Aside from just PHS students, Chmiel’s termination received backlash from hundreds of parents at PPS, who expressed concerns about the futures of their children.

“I was shaking, and I was traumatized,” said Sasha Weinstein, parent and PTO officer. “To lose him after a year and a half, I think that’s a tragedy, when he would have been able to transform this place academically.”

More significantly, none of the staff or administration at PHS knew until shortly prior to the decision.

“Everything was happening so fast… literally Friday at three o’clock I got a phone call, so there was no time… to anticipate,” Birge said.

On Sunday, March 19, The Board of Education followed-up on their previous email, responding to the inquiries and concerns of those in the district. However, while students and parents were digging for more answers, New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10, and the privacy rights held by public employees prevented the Board of Education from revealing any more information on the termination, unless a public employee provided the Board with a written waiver of his privacy rights. The email further stated that “the Board unanimously supported, and supports the Superintendent and the difficult decisions” and that the first hour of the Board meeting on Tuesday, March 23, would be used for public comment.

“The Board reviewed [the statement] quickly…I think we knew that there would be some people that we upset, including students,” said Board of Education President Dafna Kendal in response to inquiry about prior anticipation of reaction. “The Board followed up with a statement on Sunday because we realized the one on Friday wasn’t adequate.”

Kendal also said a forewarning was impossible since the Board cannot comment on an employee’s job status. Dr. Kelley and the Board want to clarify that their inability to comment has been a source of frustration for them.

“The information shared with the press only provides one side of the situation. We respect an individual’s right to share their perspective. The law prevents me from sharing the other side and the Board of Education is also constrained. Any recommendations made to the Board of Education are based on careful consideration and data,” wrote Dr. Kelley in an email response. “It is frustrating that the district could not share any data or context with the public. Employees can waive privacy rights and make information public and if that happened, we would welcome that opportunity to publicly share more information.”

In response to the controversy, Chmiel issued a statement on March 21, stating that he was “condemned” by some at Valley Road as a “rabble-rouser” and “bullied into a decision [he] wasn’t ready to make.” Chmiel also wrote that this “pretext was not based on performance or substantively anything else” and that he was in consultation with a legal attorney. The Board of Education could not comment on the statement.

In a subsequent email on Monday, March 20, Dr. Kelley introduced her recommendation of former Robbinsivlle School District Superintendent and former PPS interim Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kathie Foster as interim principal of PHS, citing her “confidence that under her leadership, Princeton High School students will continue to thrive.” After Board of Education approval this week, Dr. Foster began her time as principal at PHS.

“Dr. Foster is a very experienced school leader. She’s not a stranger so she knows us. When she was here last year, we enjoyed working for her in her role as the assistant superintendent then. We both felt that she really understood our buildings, especially the unique part of this building,” said Birge. “She knows this community, so we’re not expecting surprises at all. Just knowing how she worked in the past, the care she has on the kids really comes through.”

Since the unfolding of this situation, PHS has offered resources and outlets for the mental distress that this may have caused to students. However, PHS staff are assuring all community members of their role in providing stability through classroom instruction.

“As I thought over the weekend about my role as a teacher, I think that it is to provide as much continuity and consistency for students as possible,” said History and Sociology Teacher Elizabeth Taylor. “There’s a lot going on, but we need to focus on teaching and learning and that’s what I can do … as a teacher.”

As PHS undergoes this transition to an interim principal and eventually a permanent principal, Birge and Johnson urge community members to remember that a well-run school is a result of a myriad of factors.

“A school is not well-run because of one person. A good school has multiple legs, if you will. A school district or a school building stands on a strong leadership team, committed, engaged families, kids who are interested in learning, caring adults, [and] fabulous teachers. If you miss one part, it’s not gonna work right, but every part has its volatility,” Birge said. “And the way to mitigate that is to engage with a team approach, and that’s what we do. We’ve seen this building go through a lot. We have done a lot for the building and continue to do so.”

Looking forward, Birge hopes simply for normalcy and fun as PHS enters the last stretch of the 2022-2023 school year.

“The ideal situation is that our seniors will have a fabulous graduation and prom. We’ll continue to watch out for senior pranks,” Birge said. “We educators live for those sorts of things. We like you kids doing those sorts of things. Our ideal situation is to celebrate the normalcy of school life.”