(Princeton, NJ--June 4, 2019) Veteran High Tech Science Academy instructor Dr. Arun Srivastava has been named one of four winners of the Princeton Prize for Distinguished Secondary School Teaching, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
Dr. Srivastava’s prize, presented as part of Princeton University’s Commencement exercise, includes a personal award of $5,000, as well as $3,000 allocated to High Tech’s library. Dr. Srivastava shares this high honor with three other recipients: Kimberly Dickstein of Haddonfield Memorial High School, Kevin Killian of Pascack Hills High School, and Petrina Plunkett of Lawrence Middle School. Each teacher earned his or her award based on nominations from public and private schools across the state.
“Although the four prize winners teach across a range of subject areas, grade levels, and types of schools, they all demonstrate a remarkable ability to influence the lives of their students,” said Dr. Todd Kent, director of Princeton’s Program in Teacher Preparation. “Each of these individuals is a masterful teacher, but [each teacher’s] influence extends well beyond the walls of their classrooms.”
The staff of the Program in Teacher Preparation, in reviewing the applications, considered recommendations from colleagues and students, as well as evidence of teachers’ accomplishments in the school and community. From an initial pool of applicants, 10 finalists had been selected and visited at their schools by Rosanne Zeppieri, a member of the program staff. Next, a committee chaired by Elizabeth Colagiuri, deputy dean of the college, and including Jennifer Jennings, professor of sociology and public affairs, Woodrow Wilson School; Stanley Katz, a lecturer with the rank of professor in public and international affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School; and Steve Cochrane, superintendent of the Princeton Public Schools and a 1981 Princeton University graduate, selected the final four. Princeton has honored secondary school teachers since 1959, after receiving an anonymous gift from an alumnus to establish the program.
