Princeton Nursery School

Taking part in career advancements for parents and caregivers is challenging and for low and moderate income parents, participating in furthering education opportunities can be both financially and logistically impossible due to lack of accessible, affordable, and quality childcare for their children. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2020 the median weekly earnings for full-time workers with a high school diploma earned $162 more a week than the median of those full-time workers without a high school diploma, and the increase in earnings similarly increases with the continued education beyond high school. For vulnerable communities of financially unstable parents and caregivers who lack a high school diploma, the difficulty in earning this academic achievement can be even more challenging when there are other barriers such as a lack of language proficiency in English, even for employed individuals. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that language barriers are a contributing factor in 25% of job-related accidents (Training in Native Language Makes Workplace Safer, 2014). Additionally, low and many moderate income parents and caregivers who are unable to take part in career advancement or furthering education opportunities ultimately become stuck in a cycle of financial instability that often becomes a generational cycle for their children and beyond.

Princeton Nursery School (PNS) proposes to remove barriers for low to middle income parents and caregivers seeking to further their careers by facilitating a new business model that will provide wraparound services for adult career advancement classes that include English as a Second Language (ESL) and High School Equivalency (HSE) preparation courses at low or no cost. The model will simultaneously provide childcare at an affordable cost for adult career advancement participants to allow both adult students and their preschool children to learn and grow thus ensuring accessibility to all. The solution will help to alleviate the high costs of childcare and remove the logistical barriers for adult career advancement participants ultimately supporting families to break the cycle of generational poverty. By partnering with other local nonprofits to provide services from our school building, parents and caregivers will be able to participate in these courses while PNS will provide quality child care for their children. All adult education and career advancement courses would be provided at low or no cost to participants and would be offered during weekdays, after-hours, and on weekends to support increased accessibility to all. Transportation will also be coordinated for participants seeking this support to ensure both they and their children are able to have consistent attendance and participate in the programs. Through this new business model of adult services, PNS hopes to promote opportunities for financial stability, generational wealth, and achieve a more equitable society.

Annually, PNS services approximately 288 students, siblings, and parents/caregivers from low and moderate income households. Our facilities are accessible to nearby f affordable housing facilities and serves participants that represent the diversity of our community at large that consist of children who identify as Hispanic/Latino (43%), Black (39%), White/Non-Hispanic (9%), Asian (7%), and Native American (7%). PNS services a county where 1 in 4 residents were born outside of the U.S. and students represent 96% minorities with 45% living in Spanish-speaking households. In a recent survey of parents, 40% of current PNS parents are attending or considering furthering their education through a training or degree program.

PNS’s team of 12 staff members consist of teachers and administrative staff of which 33% are either former PNS students or parents of PNS alumni. PNS staff represents the community it serves as the staff demographic breakdown includes: 33% African American, 17% White/Non-Hispanic, 33% Hispanic/Latino, 17% multi-racial and 100% identify as women. 

Along with staff, the leadership team consisting of the Head Teacher, who has taught at PNS for nearly 20 years, the Assistant Director, a Black Latina and PNS alumna, and the Executive Director, a Nigerian-Polish American non-profit leader and educator, will play a key role in overseeing the ongoing success and positive impact of the year-round educational preschool program and the adult wraparound programs.

Each year, enrolled families express their needs through a PNS Family Needs Assessment that is managed by our full-time bilingual family liaison. Over several years, families have expressed an interest in building their skills in order to further their career and to better provide financially for their families. PNS’s bilingual family liaison acts to connect families with human service resources and community partners while also providing advocacy for needs of the community. This position’s work along with the annual family needs assessment survey note the desire for English as a Second Language (ESL) and High School Equivalency (HSE) Preparation courses.

PNS has been in operation for 96 years and has continuously adapted wraparound services based on community needs. In order to be able to meet the diverse needs of the community, PNS partners with a total of 23 local and national organizations to provide this comprehensive supportive experience for each student and adult. Through a similar model, PNS was successful at providing financial literacy workshops for adults as well as launching a pilot ESL class for parents and implementing a food distribution model, with each program partnering with a different organization. 

PNS continues to be in a position to pilot adult economic mobility through various means through its strong foundation of childcare. PNS was awarded a 4-star rating from Grow NJ Kids, which is administered by multiple state departments and oversees the quality rating improvement system for child care centers. Currently, PNS is one of only three other licensed child care centers in Mercer County that accept state subsidies who achieved this high quality rating. Other accomplishments include: providing sliding scale tuition scholarships to 85-90% of students; preserving our historic landmark building which is part of the walking tour noting buildings of importance to the African American community in Princeton, and the completion of a three year strategic plan that began in January 2025.

Website: https://princetonnurseryschool.org/

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9FvZHWKTgVybuYU4FtqxPQ

Providing an inclusive early childhood program that includes supportive family services is only part of what differentiates PNS’s century-long service to central New Jersey families in need. The ability to maintain sustainability of existence and adapt to the shifting community needs for 96+ years highlights its ability to listen to the diverse voices of its community. PNS is nestled in the historic Witherspoon-Jackson district, which was the segregated neighborhood in Princeton for African-American and immigrant families. Our school building is a historic landmark and part of the Heritage Walking Tour composed of 29 historical markers where buildings of importance to Princeton's Black community stand or once stood. As PNS preserves local Black historical significance, it continues to help create a more equitable experience for under-represented families by providing exceptional early childhood and supportive family services to primarily low and moderate income families.

This solution will also be rooted in local partnerships that involve organizations that seek to serve immigrant and low-income communities. Potential partners include: Princeton University's Pace Center for Civic Engagement that provide University student volunteers who could become trained in ESL and HSE instruction; Princeton Adult School, who since 1939 has served adult learners in the greater Princeton area; or LALDEF (Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund) who offers an array of services in-house and also acts as a conduit referring clients to other agencies. They promote the rights of all immigrants (with a focus on the Latin American community in the Mercer County area); and offer a quality adult education program including ESL and HSE courses.

By combining child care that includes research-based preschool curriculum, bilingual education, and engaging enrichment activities paired with adult economic mobility opportunities, we create a welcoming inclusive solution for local community members to remove systemic barriers faced by low-income and marginalized communities.

PNS will track success by monitoring the number of adults enrolled in each program, job status of adults, and number of hours completed of ESL and HSE courses. The PNS bilingual family liaison will also have constant communication through the SchoolCues application with participants to ensure all needs are being met by participants to attend the courses. In order to eliminate additional barriers, PNS will offer transportation assistance for those who see this as an obstacle. The SchoolCues application is a school management software adopted in the ‘23-’24 school year to help manage student information, adult communication, and engagement for families.  This project entails measuring progress of economic mobility through communication of this software through the bilingual family liaison. 

Additionally, PNS will conduct pre and post surveys of each program to track the participant perspective and hear any suggested revisions for the program. This post survey will also include ways to track employment status after completion of the program to help determine overall success. The success of this project will also be measured through data collection of our annual school survey. This school survey, completed by PNS parents, helps to understand employment status, education level, and income in order to distribute sliding-scale tuition assistance as needed. All factors are in place to help ensure furthering the economic mobility of adults in our community.

10 full-time staff, two part-time staff, 1 contracted worker.

Executive Director, Kemilola Leanna Jahnke is a passionate nonprofit leader and has spent 16 years guiding school communities and equitable education initiatives. The PNS staff experience range from 2 to 20 years of experience with the average tenure of 5.2 years. PNS has been serving the community for 96 years as it was initially conceived in 1929 to help working African-American mothers who had to choose between the income they needed and the care of their children during working hours.

PNS was originally created in 1929 as a solution for African-American mothers who had to choose between the income they needed and the care of their children during working hours. To date, an all women-led leadership team is guiding the day-to-day school operations and an all women-led staff of which 84% identify as BIPOC and 92% originating from low-income households, including the Executive Director, as youth provides direct student and family support to the community. PNS takes steps to create an inclusive environment for their students and families, and it also does this for its diverse staff. The staff represents the community it serves as the demographic breakdown includes: 33% African American, 17% White/Non-Hispanic, 33% Hispanic/Latino, 17% multi-racial and 100% identify as women. In order to create this environment, PNS looks at current and former student families to help fill job positions that become available, due to this, 23% of current staff are former students. 

Breaking Barriers and Building a Pipeline for Women’s Leadership Success, noted that while women face many barriers to leadership success, barriers for minority women are even greater; 75% of women comprise the nonprofit workforce, and 72% aspire to have a leadership position (Luna, 2019). These barriers have been a common theme for women since PNS’s inception 96 years ago whose mission was to help working mothers. In order to provide a supportive career environment, PNS has implemented an internal career advancement program called the RILEY program (Raising Internal Leadership for Equity and Youth). Named in honor of former beloved PNS teacher and Executive Director, Jean D. Riley, who served the Princeton Nursery School community for 45 years, the RILEY program helps to create attainable ladders to leadership and career advancement in order to build a stronger internal team and to further advance the mission and impact of PNS. This program is designed for PNS staff to have the opportunity to request funding approved through an internal review process for continuing education opportunities pertaining to their career at PNS and beyond.

PNS offers a unique blend of academic rigor, an emphasis on social-emotional growth, and deep community connection. PNS ensures every child is prepared for kindergarten and nurtured in a supportive and inclusive environment. PNS provides these services year-round that serves a diverse school community of students ages 2-5, and supports families through tuition assistance and wrap-around services. Key departments that help to keep the organization moving forward include: a board of trustees, development and fundraising, leadership, finance, operations, and teaching. PNS partners with a multitude of outside organizations to enhance its mission.  Stakeholders and partners include organizations such as: PNC bank, Princeton University, Witherspoon-Jackson Historical Cultural Society, and the Municipality of Princeton. 

Cost structure for each dollar raised goes toward efficiently, directly benefiting the children and families served through operational expenses, strategic planning, or building upgrades. In order to ensure customer value and impact metrics, PNS deploys surveys to participants and receives feedback from their bilingual family liaison, who is on the frontlines communicating to participants daily, on needs from the community which help to steer organizational partnerships and address community needs. 

Looking to the future, PNS aims to amplify their voice and reach. PNS will continue to highlight their academic rigor, wrap-around services, and the profound impact they have on families. Through initiatives like open houses, community talks, and social media, PNS will share success stories and showcase how early education at PNS lays the foundation for lifelong achievement for students and their families. Engaging with the broader community and expanding their outreach will ensure more families understand and benefit from PNS’s unique value.

PNS’s in-house development team includes a Senior Development Consultant, the Executive Director, and a seven-person development committee composed from members of the Board of Trustees. Each part of this development effort will work on a distinct area to ensure sustainability of this project. In alignment with the newly adopted three year strategic plan, the Senior Development Consultant will ensure a pipeline of funding opportunities through foundations, corporations, and government grants that support professional development, BIPOC leadership, and women's career advancements. The Executive Director will cultivate relations with local organizations and individuals to provide affordable or in-kind professional development opportunities. Finally, the development committee at the Board of Trustees level has committed to implementing multiple fundraisers throughout the year in order to ensure financial stability for professional development opportunities. Meanwhile, PNS leads campaigns throughout the year to raise awareness of the importance of our historic support to the community of Princeton, helping to increase the network of stakeholders.

Recent grants from 2024 include: Princeton Area Community Foundation $132,500, Princeton Township $122,000, PNC Bank $13,000, and United Way of Greater Mercer County $5,000.

PNS would like to expand its partnerships footprint and explore ways to build capacity for families to feel supported and grow economically through wraparound childcare services and career advancement opportunities. This opportunity would help PNS utilize community partners and its strong foundation in childcare to break systemic barriers for parents and caregivers stuck in cycles of generational poverty. Locally, Executive Director, Kemilola Leanna Jahnke serves as Chair of the Municipality of Princeton’s Advisory Committee on Affordable Housing, Human Services, and Racial, Social and Economy Equity. The Committee is comprised of a cohort of local Princeton community leaders working to foster collaboration and dialogue among key community stakeholders; recommend policies and initiatives that advance equity and improve the lives of all residents; and foster an environment of inclusion, empathy, and empowerment, by championing accessible human services, affordable housing, and the advancement of civil rights as essential pillars of a just and equitable society. With the aid of the Truist Foundation, PNS can inspire a new generation of children that have the economic potential to play in a more equitable playing field because their parents had the opportunity to improve their economic mobility.