Princeton Pride

When I was a little girl- 3 or 4- I wanted to go to Princeton University. Not because of their renowned academics, but because they had the best sandbox.

My parents officiated track, and I often attended meets with them. I spent a decent amount of time in various “sandboxes,” also known as long jump pits. And Princeton’s was the best.

But my love for their sandbox did not motivate me to achieve Ivy League grades when I hit middle and high school. I was a good student- all honors classes, As and Bs and occasional Cs, but not Ivy League material.

I grew up shopping in Princeton, lunching there, spending time in the adorable town with family and friends. PJ’s Pancake House, Halo Pub, and The Yankee Doodle Tap Room are among our favorite haunts. And Hubby and I took to walking the campus, absorbing the years of knowledge, history, and architecture it has to offer. That was when I truly saw the university’s beauty, regretted not pushing myself to have gotten the grades to get in. I would LOVE to know what some of those buildings look like on the inside!

When Hubby and I were planning our wedding, I read an article about kitschy, themed engagement photos. It sparked the idea for a Harry Potter shoot at Princeton University, where some of the buildings truly look straight out of Hogwarts.

*Note: a few years ago, we got caught up on a tour of the university. When we got to our photo shoot spot, a girl whispered, “This looks just like Hogwarts!” It took some restraint for me to not lean over and show her pics.

So when I decided to start looking for a new teaching job (for reasons I won’t go into quite right now), Princeton Middle School was my reach school. Of course I know it isn’t the same thing as the university, but according to the school ranking website Niche.com, it’s the 30th best district in the country, and the third best in the state of NJ. Other sites rate it best in NJ; all depends on what criteria are being used, I guess.

And it sounds awfully prestigious. “I teach in Princeton.” Literally people all over the world have heard of the place.

So if I was going to give up my tenure and step away from the friends I’ve made in the district I had been in for 9 years, it was going to be for schools the caliber of Princeton.

First things first, though: I started going through lists of districts ranked better than my current and applying wherever I saw a (very specific) middle school special education opening. I checked the best districts often since new jobs were being posted all the time.

and on a random Saturday, Princeton had that much coveted spot I wanted. I input the form application bits where I could, but they asked at least one question other districts did not, about how you incorporate “culturally relevant teaching” into your classroom, because Princeton is, according to them, a district that greatly caters to its diverse student body.

Is it crazy that I actually had fun answering that question?

My own public school experience was incredibly diverse, as I grew up in a town that was 60% white, 30% Asian, 7% African-American, and 7% Hispanic. When I went to places like Myrtle Beach, I would have what I referred to as reverse culture shock when only two races were prevalent. The school I was teaching in, I found out, was actually the third most diverse middle school in NJ, with the breakdown being 33% Black, 30% Asian, 24% Hispanic, and 10% White. Diversity is my way of life.

And because of this, I’ve always loved learning about other cultures, and, in turn, teaching about them (of course with the disclaimer that I can only teach what I have learned from others or the internet and that real experiences may be different from my hearsay and I’m always open to learn more).

I didn’t think I’d hear anything from that particular application. There’s even a disclaimer on it stating that you may not hear from them due to the large amount of applicants they receive.

But the same week I had an interview with Millburn, which is generally considered the best NJ district, so hearing from them gave me quite the ego boost, I scored a Princeton interview.

I was excited and mildly terrified and did I mention very excited?

As the interview started, after I carefully gauged the appropriateness of what I was about to say based on the vibe I got from the two women conducting the thing, I said something to the effect of, “Please let me fan girl out for a minute. I love Princeton- the town and the university. My family and I visit it regularly. It’s a place I’m really passionate about, and I’m so excited just to have the opportunity to interview here.”

And then the Special Ed supervisor said, “Well, we’re excited about you.”

Sorry, what was that? Princeton was excited about me?

The interview went on to be the best I’ve ever had. The district is incredibly liberal, which works for my bleeding heart. In fact, when I showed them a #SayTheirNames project I’ve been doing with my students for the past two years, possibly what I’m most proud of in my career, they said, “That’s exactly the kind of thing we’re looking for.”

About 2 weeks later, I had a demo lesson. This is a thing prospective teachers have to do where they create a lesson on a topic given to them a few days in advance and present it to a bunch of kids they know almost nothing about. We watched the short Pixar film “Piper” and wrote and discussed character development in it. I didn’t reinvent the wheel or anything, but in the debriefing session afterwards, the principal told me he actually had fun during the lesson. Seriously. FUN. Watching a video and writing about it.

After all that positive feedback, I would have been shocked if I hadn’t been offered the job. Hubby and I discussed how much of a pay cut I could afford to take. Fun fact- most teachers do take a pay cut when they switch districts. (Remember that next time you complain about how jaded and burnt out teachers are in the same place they’ve been for so long.) When I met with HR after my recommendation, though, they offered me about a $5,000 raise.

Even with all that - a feeling of being wanted, stellar feedback, and a raise - I wasn’t 100% sure the change would be right. There’s so much risk in any change. I’ll lose my tenure. I won’t get to see my wonderful coworker friends anymore. The commute will be longer.

But. There were things happening in my old job that I just couldn’t face anymore. I’ll be going to a place that’s already made me feel beyond valued in what I do. I’ll be making more, not just now, but in the long run, as their pay scale goes higher than my former district, too.

And, have I mentioned that IT’S PRINCETON?! The amount of pride I already feel in working in a place as well renowned as that is enough to make me glow when I think about it.

So it is with that great, glowing pride that I can officially announce that in the fall, I’ll be a blue Princeton tiger! Roar!