By Donald Gilpin
Dafna Kendal, Susan Kanter, and Erica Snyder are all on the ballot for election to three-year terms on the Princeton Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education (BOE), but their October 23 virtual 2025 Candidate Forum, sponsored by Princeton Parents for Black Children (PPBC), Not in Our Town Princeton (NIOT), and Civil Rights Princeton (CRP), was not a typical campaign event.
For one thing, the three candidates are running unopposed, with three seats available in the first uncontested Princeton School Board election since 2012, and for another, the priorities of the forum sponsors ensured a particular emphasis on issues of equity in the public schools.
Kendal, who is BOE president and will be starting her fourth term; Kanter, board vice president who will be starting her third term; and Snyder, who will be a new member of the BOE, faced a number of difficult questions — about achievement gaps, about diversity of the PPS staff, about the challenges of achieving an equitable education for all, and more — posed by NIOT Chair Caroline Clarke, who moderated the proceedings. PPBC Co-President Michele Tuck-Ponder was the host and timekeeper for the event.
“I know there’s more work to do,” said Kendal, calling for expanding opportunities, providing more transparency in reporting outcomes, and ensuring that all student and parent voices are heard. “We need to confront disparities with honesty, invest in targeted supports, recruit and retain a more diverse staff, and hold ourselves accountable for progress. I want to continue building a community where every Black student and every student can reach their full potential.”
In questioning why racial and economic disparities persist and asking the candidates what actions they would take to eliminate those disparities, Clarke cited data showing that 89 percent of recent white graduates of Princeton High School (PHS) and 98 percent of Asian graduates were accepted to four-year colleges, but only 64 percent of Black students, 48 percent of Latino students, and 51 percent of lower income students on free and reduced lunch achieved the same outcome.
In response, Snyder echoed Kendal’s earlier remarks. “The gap is closing, but it’s really slow,” she said. “We have a lot of work to do in making sure that students of color have the same outcomes.” She went on to urge that the district to take a close look “at the structures we’ve put in place and whether some of those structures are hindering progress.”
“What we do culturally with the structure of school needs to be examined to see if all children are achieving the outcomes they desire,” Snyder added.
Kanter called for a particular focus on students in the early grades, “reaching students as early as possible to understand what their goals are and see that they achieve those goals.” She noted that the counseling department has been there supporting all students, but that “some kids may need extra supports.”
Kanter pointed out recent “headwinds” in the larger world where top universities have seen declines in minority enrollment due to the Supreme Court’s elimination of affirmative action. She also noted the government’s condemnation of DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) programs. “I think we’re going to continue to see attacks,” she said.
Kendal reflected on the disparities. “I always say, ‘A school district should be judged on how its least successful students are doing.’ The first thing is to have high expectations for every student. I think the numbers are getting better, but they’re still dismal. This is something we need to look at. We have to do better.”
Kendal went on to mention both internal and external pressures on students, with lower representation of minority students in advanced placement classes, some students needing to go directly to work after graduation, as well as some students opting for two-year colleges for financial reasons or because of a particular vocational interest. She acknowledged a discrepancy in outcomes for different races that’s “not acceptable.”
Kendal praised the work of PHS counselors Andrea Dinan and Nipurna Shah in helping many students heading to both two-and four-year colleges.
In response to a question about PPS’ support for graduates choosing to attend Mercer County Community College (MCCC) or other vocational and job preparedness training “in this district which measures its success by which colleges its children attend,” all three candidates voiced their unequivocal commitment to encourage and help students who choose not to pursue the four-year college route.
“College is great for a lot of people, but it’s not the path for all kids, and we should really support that choice,” said Snyder, describing herself as “a huge supporter of vocational training.”
“MCCC can be a pre-four-year college, but it can also be a great place for vocational training,” Kanter said. “To sit in a classroom after high school is not the best option for many. A lot of people learn better by working with their hands, and creating opportunities for kids who need to make really good salaries soon after they graduate from high school is very important.” She went on to note that many successful students go on to MCCC from PHS, seeking to become nurses or going into technical or computer training.
The discussion ranged widely in response to questions on the progress of projects funded by the recent referendum, budget priorities, the need for an adviser for the Multicultural Student Achievement Network group, financial and other challenges that deter some students from joining extracurricular activities, equity in participation in field trips, problems in the after-school program, student cell phones and whether they should be banned, strategies that might be used to deal with possible hostility among school board members, and more.
In responding to the final question about how best to achieve an equitable education for all students, Snyder recommended professional development in the area of cultural competence and examining inherent biases, reviewing the curriculum, and “making sure all students feel seen and heard.”
Kendal stated, “‘Compassionate citizens’ are the most important words in our mission statement. One of the things we do well, we teach them understanding. Most of our kids are compassionate and make us proud, but we always know we can do better, and we’re looking for ways to do that.”
Kanter also cited the need to take a close look at the curriculum and to make sure that students gain the “compassion to understand why we need to work together.” She pointed out the opportunities that the district will have in an upcoming humanities review in the social studies and English departments to confront racial biases, “an opportunity to make sure our students understand the national Black experience, the Princeton Black experience, and the school experience that they’ve seen.”
In her closing remarks Kendal, who is in her ninth year on the BOE, noted, “There’s more work to do, and I think the best way to do it is in partnership with organizations like PPBC, NIOT and CRP, so I would ask for this in the coming three years: We share your frustrations. The best way to move ahead is to move ahead together.”
The polls are open for early voting through Sunday, November 2 at sites throughout Mercer County. Tuesday, November 4 is Election Day, with voting from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at your designated polling location. Visit vote.nj.gov for locations and further information.