

Juliana Krawircki

The 2020-2021 school year brought with it many challenges for the teachers and faculty of PHS. Now, their efforts are being recognised with awards.

Julianna Krawiecki, a PHS Drama Teacher known to her students as Ms. K, was one such recipient. She was nominated by the Speech and Theatre Association of New Jersey (STANJ) for the Outstanding Teacher of Speech and Theatre Governor’s Award after she submitted her portfolio in January of 2020, and received news several weeks later that she had won.

“You’re asked to submit a portfolio, which for me had information about the past ten years of my teaching career— it had [written] information, pictures, clips from shows, and recommendation letters from administrators and colleagues, from both school districts that I had worked in,” Krawiecki said.



Krawiecki, as PHS’s drama teacher, previously taught at the ManalapanEnglishtown school district as a vocal music and theatre teacher before moving to the Princeton Public Schools district, where she first taught as a drama teacher in the middle school, before finally settling at her current position at PHS. On top of directing over six different drama productions, one for each class she teaches, Krawiecki oversees both of PHS’s school plays, the fall play and the spring musical.

“We do the work we do not to be thanked and recognized,” Krawiecki said. “But it was really an honor to receive the recognition, and it meant more because it was from my peers. Oftentimes, being a drama teacher in a school can be very lonely, you’re the only person [teaching that class]. I really rely on [the support] of theatre teachers from other schools. They’re my network and my support group.”

Reflecting on her years at PHS, Krawieck attributes her award to the community around her.

“Last year was my 10th year as a public school teacher. [Receiving the award] brought a nice sense of accomplishment, to know that the work I do is valued,” Krawiecki said.

James Smirk


PHS Science Teacher James Smirk was awarded an “Outstanding Educator Award” by the University of Chicago. He was nominated for the award by his former athlete Charlotte Gilmore ‘20, a graduate of PHS who is currently attending the University of Chicago.

“Upon admission, [the university] asks incoming students if they want to nominate someone who ... had a great impact on their personal and academic success,” Smirk said.

UChicago describes the recipients of the award as “teachers who share an infectious love for learning and care for their students both inside and outside of the classroom.” The university’s goal with the award is to perpetuate the belief that outstanding educators go beyond everyday teaching and leave an impression in students that is carried over a lifetime of learning. It aims to highlight educators who go the extra mile for their students.

Smirk is grateful to have received the award and thinks back fondly on his time working with Gilmore as her coach for track.

“When I received the email I was ... really proud that someone that I worked with thought highly enough of the work that we did together and the things that we accomplished to think about me in doing that,” Smirk said. “I think that’s [special] for her to take the time to do that ... it was really meaningful for me.”


One method that Smirk believes has been important to his success in the classroom or on the field is his emphasis on “leadership philosophy” with his students and athletes.

“That really puts the responsibility on students to move forward,” says Smirk. “I think… that plays out in my classroom as well as my coaching.”

Looking forward, Smirk believes that this award is indicative of a bright future for PHS.

“I think there’s a kind of recognition there that we’re doing something that other districts maybe are doing differently, or we’re doing that on a different level,” Smirk said. “It’s nice to know that the culture we’re working to actively improve here ... is paying off.

Flash Features: PHS teachers awarded for dedication to student


Nearly a thousand students, faculty, and community members of the Princeton Public Schools district attended the Board of Education meeting held via Zoom on February 23. The meeting discussed the plan to incorporate more in-person learning into PPS and presented an amended bell schedule for the high school. 

On February 22, the BOE sent out a proposal for a new bell schedule which would extend each hour-long class period by 15 minutes and end the school day at 2:30 p.m. rather than 1:00 p.m. Many students immediately voiced outrage at this development by posting on social media and urging others to attend the BOE meeting.

At the board meeting the following evening, the administrators adjusted the schedule to retain the original 60-minute classes but with the addition of another period, for a total of five 60-minute classes per day and a 2:35 p.m. end. 

“We [will] incorporate more instructional time, but we will have a 40-minute break …The last period of the day, which is 2:35–3:21, [will be] our targeted instruction period, and [on] Thursdays, we will have our Tiger Time, [during which] students can collaborate with each other on projects [and] students can play basketball in the Old Gym,” said Jared Warren, Acting Principal of PHS.

Around 60 individuals chose to speak for an allotted two minutes during the public forum section of the meeting. 

Yash Roy ’21, a student liaison to the board, was the first to voice his thoughts. 

“Yesterday, when the administration at Princeton High School presented the [new schedule with] 75 minute periods, the student body showed up. We said, ‘This is not a good idea, we don’t support this, and we want to have a voice and a seat at the table when schedules are made going forward.’ What do we get in return? We got [a revised schedule] without any real, meaningful, discussion with students. I think that’s just disrespecting us at this point,” Roy said.

Malachi Wood, PHS French Teacher and parent with two students enrolled in Princeton Public Schools, also spoke out during the public forum. He detailed his concerns about how the new schedule will affect students who come from lower-income families. 

“The extended schedule will be an equity disaster. Going forward with this will [expand] the equity gap that already exists at PHS. The more time students spend in class, the more time they need outside of class to do the inevitably increased workload. This is doubly true for our vulnerable and challenged students,” Wood said.

Another individual from the student body also voiced their frustration. Oliver Huang ’24 compared the board’s behavior to “Ted Cruz in a winter storm,” referring to the Texas senator who took a trip to Cancún while many of his constituents were left to brave the recent Texas blizzard.

“[We] probably could have been a bit nicer,” said Huang.

In a comment about what may have caused the anger during the public forum, Huang said, “Not being heard. We kind of got ignored.”

Maya Khan ’21, the other student liaison to the board, brought up the survey conducted on behalf of the board which asked about students’ mental health and their thoughts on the current schedule. Khan and Roy noted that of the 645 PHS students who responded, 85 percent replied that they were overly stressed in the last month because of school, 72 percent agreed that the current schedule and the allotted class times were “just right,” and only one percent asked for more instructional time.

Those who spoke echoed the results of the survey and continued to voice their concerns as the night went on. Due to the growing number of individuals who still wished to participate, the board voted to extend the meeting until midnight.

“I think we need more time to listen to more people, but I do think anyone who’s on the call who wants to speak tonight, I think we need to let them speak. I want to hear them,” said board member Betsy Baglio when asked about shortening the speaking time for students and citizens to less than one minute.

Fellow board member Michele Tuck-Ponder echoed her sentiment. Tuck-Ponder served as the time-keeper for the public forum, reminding speakers of the two-minute time limit.

“Yeah, we’re going to be here late. But people want to be heard. We should forge on until we have heard from everybody,” Tuck-Ponder said.

As a result of the meeting and public forum, the board chose to delay all proposed changes pending recommendations to be made by a new committee of students and teachers created by Dr. Galasso, the superintendent. Two days after the board meeting, the weekend of March 6–7 was designated a “no-homework time zone” to promote student well-being after many students spoke about their stress levels during the forum.

Galasso was optimistic that the board and the student body could come to an agreement that benefited students and faculty alike by working together. Through an application process organized by the student liaisons, they selected a group of 15 students that would help Galasso devise a mutually beneficial schedule change.

“So far we’ve had three hours worth of meetings with students [during which] we’ve talked about the high school schedule specifically. We’ve come together on about 80 percent of what students’ concerns were,” Galasso said.

Galasso hopes that this student group can help avoid future confrontations as well and provide a foundation for future collaboration.

“I would like to think that we would begin to do this once a month. This [superintendent council] will be an opportunity, ongoing, where students will have a forum to express what they like and what they would like to see improved, and a whole host of other issues,” said Galasso.

New schedule proposal stirs controversy at Board of Education meeting

In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, PHS’s school nurses are working proactively with the Princeton Health Department to administer vaccines during school hours.

Board Member Deborah Bronfeld announced the plan at the January 26 Board of Education meeting for the Princeton Public Schools district. Currently, school nurses have administered vaccines for the Township from the Princeton Municipal building, which already held the necessary infrastructure such as the regular and ultra-cold freezers needed for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, respectively.

Lisa Goldsmith, a school nurse coordinator who continues to be instrumental in the design of PHS’s COVID precautions, noted that the administration has acknowledged the additional risk that PHS nurses are taking on and are working to foster the safest possible working conditions.

“I’ve been working with administrators for the entire summer. I do know that no one wants anyone to get sick,” Goldsmith said.

Goldsmith is comfortable with doing her job for the school while simultaneously serving the Princeton Township community. However, while she believes that the general sentiment regarding the nurses’ assistance is positive, she knows that not all of her colleagues are as eager to help out and risk their health. 

“Things don’t always go as planned. People are doing the best that they can. But this [generalization] may cause an uproar with my colleagues,” Goldsmith said.

In a letter to New Jersey Governor Murphy from the Superintendents of Mercer County, including Interim Superintendent Barry Galasso, Murphy was urged to expedite vaccine distribution to faculty, whose ability to teach and maintain what was deemed a “constant classroom” is dictated by their health. 

Working with the Princeton Health Department, the Princeton Public Schools district is seeking to expedite vaccines for educators. However, this may prove difficult as vaccines are moved to more centralized locations and stricter regulations are put into place.

While the Biden administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) listed frontline workers, such as teachers, as one of their priorities for vaccination, New Jersey teachers have yet to receive doses. Murphy has called for teachers to be “next in line” for the vaccine. Teachers represent a relatively small population group, numbering roughly 116,000 in the United States as of 2019.  

Goldsmith remains optimistic but worries that the rollout may not happen as soon as some may hope.

“We as nurses would love to do that, to make sure all the teachers and staff who want to get [the vaccine] get it. But I don’t honestly see that happening too soon in the future. Federal efforts are currently centered around moving vaccines to bigger locations. I don’t think it will be in our school, anytime soon.”

In spite of that, Princeton Public Schools is looking to get vaccines to teachers as fast as possible, an instrumental step in the process of bringing students back into classrooms.

“I think that it’s great. If we could find a way to vaccinate teachers, they would feel safer. It’s not getting easier for anyone. Nerves are frayed, and people just want things to return to some sense of normalcy,” Goldsmith said.

In the meantime, Goldsmith wants to remind PHS students to continue social distancing protocols and to report online if they feel ill, with vaccines being far from rolling out. 

“We all have contact tracing training. Students must [fill out the online form] if [they] are in the A or B cohort; that allows us to keep the community safe and healthy,” said Goldsmith.



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