To the Editor:

As a longtime Princeton resident, past student, and current parent in Princeton Public Schools, and former member of the Princeton Little League/Princeton Girls’ Softball (PLL/PGS) Board of Trustees, I am writing to express my wholehearted support for the election of Jean Durbin to the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education (BOE).

PLL/PGS is the largest recreational youth sports league in Princeton, each year providing hundreds of children ages 4 to 13 with the opportunity to learn and to play baseball and softball. The league is made possible by countless hours of volunteer work on the part of parents serving in numerous capacities, from coaching to field cleanup to “Snack Shack” stocking, and everything in between.

Jean was PLL/PGS’ unsung hero for almost 15 years, as she coordinated ongoing activities and family participation efforts that created an open and inviting community experience for everyone involved in our league. Whether it was organizing events for teams and families from out of town during PLL’s first ever hosting of a Little League International NJ State Tournament to inviting sibling spectators to work with her in the Grover Fields “Snack Shack,” Jean was integral to our culture of inclusiveness and fun. She and her husband worked to recruit children who might not otherwise play, and ensured that they had the necessary equipment and transportation to and from practices and games.

Working with Jean on recreational youth sports, I saw up close her focus on teamwork and her commitment to our local youth and their families, neither of which ever wavered. It’s clear she brings these same qualities to anything in which she is involved, from the Littlebrook PTO, to Littlebrook Chess Club where again she worked to actively recruit children who might not otherwise participate due to cost or transportation needs, to the Civil Rights Commission, to her leadership of PCDO.

During this campaign cycle, as I hear the criticism of the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education, including calls for a “new majority” in a body that is supposed to be non-partisan and apolitical, I know that Jean will be focused on working with ALL members of the BOE in a collaborative and productive way.  Jean knows that sound processes and strong working relationships are the keys to effective governance and stewardship, and that a BOE where everyone is focused on collaboration — whether in agreement on particular items or not — leads to effective and healthy relationships with PPS admin, teachers, and staff; with the Princeton municipality; and with the Princeton community.  This promises to be nothing but beneficial for all of our students in Princeton Public Schools.

If you want someone who will roll up her sleeves and get to work with grace, maturity, and equanimity, and who focuses on collaboration and leveraging strengths, vote for Jean Durbin for PPS Board of Education, Column L.

Anne Desmond
Tee-Ar Place