I have been an elementary school wellness teacher in Hopewell Valley for 21 years, teaching at Bear Tavern Elementary School and, more recently, at Toll Gate Grammar School. Over time, my instructional approach has evolved to support a broader view of student development, with a growing emphasis on social and mental wellness alongside traditional physical education.
Such an approach is further supported by the teaching space and educational materials available to facilitate equitable and personalized instruction. At Toll Gate, this is a challenge.
In the 100-year-old gym, my teaching area, space is limited. Two staircases lead to a stage that protrudes into what was once the gym floor space. The curtained stage now serves as both my office and my storage area. There is no dedicated staff or student bathroom nearby.
The administration has been supportive and worked with me to implement what improvements are possible, but the overall needs of our aging building often take precedence. I have lost my dedicated office and storage spaces because they were converted to support instruction and counseling services.
The building’s infrastructure is under constant strain. Our operations staff members are frequently on site, working to maintain our aging boilers and HVAC systems, which often fail to deliver consistent heating and cooling throughout the school.
The nearest bathrooms to the gym are shared with four homerooms and the main office. On the lower level, only one set of student bathrooms remains because the second set had to be converted to staff use—after the original staff bathrooms in the faculty room became unusable due to irreparable plumbing issues.
Even our nurse’s office lacks basic functionality—it has no bathroom, no separate sick and treatment areas, and no private space to make phone calls home.
Outside, old trailers continue to serve as overflow classrooms. Many of my colleagues—art, music, and language teachers—have had to teach “on a cart,” moving among classrooms with all their materials, because there is no space for their dedicated subjects.
These trailers were meant to be temporary, but students have been learning in them for more than two decades.
My own three children, now grown, began their educational journeys at Toll Gate, in those very same trailers. Today, my grandchildren—newborn residents of Pennington—may one day be kindergarteners in those same temporary classrooms.
As much as I look forward to them attending Toll Gate, I sincerely hope they will not have to experience the same, facilities — intended to be temporary — as their mother, aunt, and uncle.
The proposed projects in the upcoming referendum directly address many of the issues I’ve outlined. If passed, the referendum will provide:
• A dedicated office and storage space for my program
• A properly outfitted nurse’s office
• Replacement of the old trailers with modern classrooms
• Upgrades to our HVAC systems
• Staff bathrooms
This investment will not only enhance our physical spaces but also ensure a more equitable and enriching educational experience for both current and future students. The passage of the referendum is critical for my program, as longstanding inequities—stemming from space limitations and a century-old gym facility—cannot be resolved while funds continue to be diverted to recurring emergencies that disrupt the daily routines and well being of students and staff.
Suzanne Horsley is an elementary school wellness teacher at Toll Gate Grammar School.
