School-sponsored field trips come every year like clockwork.  Upperclassmen relay stories to underclassmen of the pranks and incidents that occurred on their trips, creating a sense of entitlement among the younger students.  They see these trips as their right, their opportunity to do what they like and indulge in the same misbehavior as their older peers, but these trips are […]

Last year, the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district revamped the high school midterm, replacing one-period, do-or-die cumulative tests with three smaller assessments in each subject scattered across the first semester. The new system was designed to promote the district’s 21st-century Competencies and to help students who thrive during class activities but struggle on high-stakes exams. “This fair, low-pressure system will make […]

Books cover the air conditioning units, damp paper towels cover thermostats, artwork in the orchestra room shrivels with each passing day.  Teachers advise students to bring coats to class, and the science classrooms seem to be in an entirely different ecosystem from the English ones.  Some days the classrooms are unbearably hot; other days, they’re freezing cold.  And this isn’t […]

You know that new attendance policy you’ve been so devastatingly angry/righteously excited about for the past month?  Well, we’re going to do a little exercise right now to help you understand this incredibly important piece of regulation.  Take out a blank sheet of printer paper (preferably 8 ½” x 11”, but legal pads are acceptable) and draw two circles (use a […]