WW-P Math
Curriculum Review
Thank you for Cara Latham’s math review article (The News, January 11). This report suggests the district may (eventually) reverse its policy of unfairly holding back more than one-third of the student body. While this is just a first, frustratingly slow step, the pending reversal of this policy provides some hope to students. Ms. Latham’s report raises at least three concerns: ##M:[more]##
(1.) Why is the math review committee made up entirely of district insiders? You list 11 employees and one board member on the review committee. While I’m sure every member is well meaning, every one is an insider. Any committee needs to include members who are NOT invested in the status quo.
(2.) A direct result of the insider bias on the math review committee was a shockingly weak and biased survey. Several questions channeled the reader to answers that only an insider could have imagined. The final question, which covered the widespread use of tutors in this district, was the most egregious. The math review committee missed a terrific opportunity to understand why so many parents turn to tutors.
(3.) It is shocking that the district would continue to employ unnamed “administrative staff” who think the district is ahead of the curve in math, because 40.3 percent of WWP students take calculus. As discussed in prior WW-P News articles, while 40.3 percent does exceed the 23 percent who take calculus nationally, well over 80 percent of the district’s sixth graders rated above the top 23 percentile nationally. Thus, fully half of these top students fall behind their peers in the “average” American school district. This demonstrates the catastrophic underachievement of our school district’s math program.
Two years ago, when Victoria Kniewel was assistant superintendent of curriculum, she told the News “We continue to use data to look for patterns and plan for improvement and growth.” So far there is no evidence of this. Now that Dr. Kniewel is superintendent, I call upon her to fulfill her promise. Brett Boal
31 Park Hill Terrace,
West Windsor
Redevelopment: Let’s Do It Right
Or Not At All
It has been more than seven months since the Council virtually took over the redevelopment planning project. Many different ideas have been discussed and discarded; budget spent; resolutions passed; but with no real tangible results. On September 26, 2007, the Council president sent a memorandum to the Planning Board chair that referred the redevelopment plan to the Planning Board along with nine recommendations. The Planning Board responded in a very positive and professional manner. A budget and scope of services were provided on October 24 and again on November 7. Finally, the proposed funding was passed on December 17. Yet more and more restrictions and strings continue to be attached to the project by the Council.
Why redevelopment? It is clear that West Windsor has been facing numerous problems in the areas of land use planning and traffic improvements over the past 15 years. Some issues have been and are being resolved. Some solutions have been initiated in the past six years. But the area around the train station is one of the remaining areas in West Windsor that is guaranteed to experience more development under existing zoning and more and more traffic in the future.
Without a long-term vision and growth management plan around the train station, problems will be inevitable. Even commercial development will bring more traffic into the area. The number of commuters using the train station will continue to grow even without sufficient parking as drop offs with twice the trips.
With a Redevelopment Plan, the Township would be able to manage commercial, retail, and any residential growth with a badly needed timed-growth approach. Other additional benefits include selection of the redevelopers within the 350-acre zone; negotiation for shared services; and a requirement of impact contributions for public amenities.
The redevelopment statute also requires the state and county agencies to be part of the redevelopment process, which could raise an opportunity to bring in much needed traffic improvements to the area, minimizing impact to existing neighborhoods. Furthermore, with one of the top 10 train stations in the nation, redevelopment could increase our ability to recruit quality business ratables to West Windsor. This would contribute to reducing the burden of the residential property taxpayers.
Information and recommendations were provided by the Hillier team to Township officials on June 4, 2007. Consistent with the above, we now need to provide our direction to the Hillier team as to what we really must have, such as parking for West Windsor residents, a Main Street, and the Vaughn Drive connector; and what we feel we would like to have, such as a public safety substation and improved bicycle/pedestrian connection between both sides of the railroad tracks.
Once the plan is adopted, the Township can apply the timed-growth approach and other land use management techniques to protect the best interests of the community in terms of traffic, school impact, and other considerations. In the future, according to the statute, we can also amend the redevelopment plan as circumstances merit.
The concept is very simple. If we want some amenities at no taxpayer expense, the next step is to jointly decide what they would be. Then work with the community and property owners to reach an agreement on how to make it all happen based on information provided by the consultants and other professionals. If we do not like the information provided by the Hillier team, then the Planning Board should be employed to offer a second opinion.
The final Redevelopment Plan is a long-term plan. It takes years and a number of phases to bring it to the final build-out. Once the Plan is adopted, the Township would possess the authority to manage the future growth within the 350 acres district. Control of our future destiny; reduction of our residential tax burden; creating a place where our children and families would want to go; and facilitating a more clear sense of community? Aren’t these what we all want in West Windsor?
After endless debates and meetings over the last year, the time has come to put politics aside and craft a Redevelopment Plan that is acceptable to this community which would provide a commercial, civic, and cultural focal point for West Windsor. I strongly urge the Township Council, Planning Board, property owners, and the public to all work together with the Administration. With open minds and mutual trust, using the best technical information available, we can move this project forward.
The key question now is: Is the Council really committed to the redevelopment planning process? Should we stop now before more money is spent? Are we going to give up all the important tools that will help West Windsor to manage its growth in the future? Or should we let all property owners do what they are allowed to do under the current Municipal Land Use Law and not the Redevelopment statute?
Let’s put aside political differences and do redevelopment right or be honest with the taxpayers and end the project once and for all. The potential consequences, good, or bad, we will all have to share.
Shing-Fu Hsueh
Mayor, West Windsor
Quick Response
I would just like to thank the West Windsor Police and the Twin W First Aid for their quick response when called to 73 Penn Lyle Road in the early morning hours on January 17. Joseph Andrews
ML King Event:
‘A Huge Success’
Thanks so much for your article on Cornell Edmonds and the film festival commemoration event for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (The News, January 11). The event turned out to be a huge success. We had the room filled at the West Windsor Township Library. Congressman Rush Holt gave brief remarks and Victoria Kniewel, who is the superintendent of the school district, also attended.
We had wonderful and informative presentations from the faith community and a great conversation following the film presentation with some very good suggestions for next steps we hope to pursue with the community leaders on how we can make Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community a reality (i.e., faith, youth, senior, elected officials, schools, etc.).
Thanks again for making this all possible with your coverage of such an important issue.
Barbara Edmonds
Where Are Cookies?
Have you been wondering: Where can I get Girl Scout cookies? Usually Girl Scouts in West Windsor-Plainsboro sell cookies in the fall. This year, however, our Girl Scouts will be selling cookies from January through February 25. The girls will be selling all the usual cookies (Thin Mints, Caramel DeLites, Peanut Butter Patties, Shortbread, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Thanks-A-Lot, Lemonades) plus a new cookie — Cinna-Spins, cinnamon flavored cookies that are packaged in convenient 100 calorie serving bags.
We hope the community will continue to support Girl Scouting by buying cookies. The cookie sale program is also a learning experience for the girls. They learn about goal setting, budgeting, managing money, and sales.
This year the girls are planning a lot of booth sales. Marilyn Menninger, cookie booth sale manager, reported that “stores have been really terrific about supporting Girl Scouts by letting us sell cookies at their stores. If you’re looking to buy cookies and you don’t normally see girls in your neighborhood, look for Girl Scout troops during the daytime on weekends at the Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club in Nassau Park (Route 1), Superfresh in Plainsboro, or the Hair Cuttery (on Route 1 near Staples), from January 26 through February 24.
If you are interested in joining Girl Scouts, contact me at 609-371-2119 or send an E-mail to girlscoutswwp@verizon.net.
Louisa Ho
WW-P Girl Scout Service Unit
A holiday thank you from Enable Inc.
On behalf of Enable Inc., the persons we serve, the staff and board members, we want to express our thanks to the many individuals, groups, businesses, congregations and schools who helped make the holidays brighter for 188 individuals with disabilities and their family members. The Holiday Gift Appeal was a tremendous success this year.
Enable Inc., a non-profit organization devoted to supporting individuals with disabilities to live full and independent lives in the community, hosted its annual Holiday Gift Appeal in December. This Appeal helps fulfill the holiday wishes of persons with disabilities and their families served by Enable through the caring and kindness of people in the community who donate gifts and food. We also thank those who helped sort and wrap presents, shop, and deliver gifts, and those who made financial donations.
We especially want to thank members of the Princeton Alliance Church and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Princeton, Beth El Synagogue in East Windsor and St. David’s Episcopal Church in Cranbury. The employees of Pepper Hamilton, PETCO, Ortho-Diagnostics, and Mathematica did a stellar job of providing gifts and food.
Gifts were wrapped by Boy Scout Troop 5700 and the Senior Youth Group from St. David the King Roman Catholic Church in West Windsor. Generous amounts of food were collected so families could enjoy a delicious holiday meal. Our thanks for food donations through the Hun School in Princeton as well as Harvest Christian Fellowship in Columbus.
We are grateful to our Holiday Gift Appeal co-chairs, Liz Boyle of Princeton and Lois Miller of West Windsor, for coordinating such a successful event and for donating wrapping and supplies.
Without these giving hearts, we wouldn’t be able to provide this type of service each year. Thank you everyone!
Sharon J.B. Copeland, LSW, MSW
Executive Director
Enable Inc., 13 Roszel Road, West Windsor
If we want to do redevelopment, the task must be accomplished with all the experts from both the Hillier team and the Planning Board. Only general principles and guidance are required for the professionals. There is no need for more restrictions, meetings, and resolutions, which would be prohibitive from the standpoint of further costs and time delay.
As I proposed before the redevelopment process started, the Township needs to follow five principles: transparency, equity, sustainability, capacity-based planning, and constitutional obligation.
