Ever since a young age, Dave Pollack knew that he had a passion for music. He started playing the piano when was just five years old, and started learning to play the saxophone soon after that when he was nine. In high school, Pollack frequently participated in musical performances and performed at jazz festivals, winning several awards. Now, as the new band director at PHS, he hopes to spread that love for music to his students.

As the owner of Princeton Home Music Lessons, educating younger students has always been an important part of Pollack’s life. After high school, Pollack enrolled in William Paterson University where he started teaching a few private lessons. His passion for teaching music has grown since then.

“Teaching private lessons helped me know how great [jazz] was for me. I wanted to pass that on to other students, so they can have the same good experience that I did when I was in school.” Pollack said.

Pollack taught at The Lawrenceville School and the Cranbury School before becoming the PHS Instrumental Music Teacher. When he heard about the open teaching spot at PHS, he knew it was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.

“I know the history of the program really well because my students from Cranbury would go to Princeton High. I have known how great the program is for so long. Any director would want this job, not just me. I’m just lucky enough to have it.” Pollack said.

Guiding young students to discover music is something that Pollack finds important, especially because music is involved in many aspects of their daily lives.

“Music is everywhere, [even] when we don’t even realize it. Music [is] in movies. Music sets a mood if you go to a coffee shop,” said Pollack. “You go into an elevator, you go to a concert, music is everywhere, there’s so much of it”

Pollack focuses his teaching to give his students a taste of music from around the world. However, as the band director, jazz is something that Pollack finds the most important to teach among all types of music.

“This program is great because we focus on the jazz side, ‘jazz’ is just an umbrella term for so many different styles. If you only focus on classical music, you’re really focusing on Western European music from the 1600s through the 1800s,” said Pollack. “When you say you're doing ‘jazz’ music, you're really doing world music. We’re not only doing jazz from the early 1900s in the United States, but we’re also doing bossa nova music from South America, funk music, African music, and lots of different styles of music from all over the world from all different time periods under the umbrella of jazz. That’s why I think it’s so important.”

Moving from teaching middle school students to high school has been a welcoming change for Pollack. He finds satisfaction in teaching and discussing music at a higher level.

“The students are older, and just by that nature, more mature. We’re able to do higher-level things musically, but also I’m able to talk to them on a different level,” said Pollack.

After Pollack’s recent arrival, PHS Instrumental Music Teacher Joseph Bongiovi feels there have been many positive impacts with other bands as well

“I enjoy the humor. I think one big change with him is that we have fun in a more productive way, and then, you know, everybody feels like [they’re] part of the fun” said PHS Instrumental Music Teacher Joseph Bongiovi. “I feel like everybody, since he’s been here, has changed the level of enthusiasm. I think overall, having him here has been positive in terms of his energy. He’s brought new energy.”

As spring rolls around, Pollack is excited to begin the performance season. Several bands will be holding spring concerts in April and May.

“I’m looking forward to all the performances and opportunities that the kids have this year. We have you know, we did state prelims. Now we have state finals coming up, we have our own jazz festival featuring Tony Succar. We have a band dance. We have our spring concert. We have another concert and we have our Disney trip. So there’s a lot-jam packed into the spring.” says Pollack.

After two years of pandemic affected performances, both Pollack and his students are excited to return to real in-person performances. Performance opportunities in front of a live audience in a global pandemic have been limited. However, as the world get back to normal, more live performances are available for students.

“I’m always about performance opportunities and being able [to see] the fact that students haven’t had those last two years, that’s why I’m so excited to just see them on stage performing and see [how]  the audience will react to them.” Pollack said.

PHS Profile: Dave Pollack brings his passion for music to the classroom

 On March 1, 2022, after four years of planning and two years of construction, the new PHS Tiger Cafe opened for the first time. The new cafe was part of a $26.9 million referendum passed in 2018 which allowed construction to begin in 2020. Although the cafe was previously planned to open in late 2020, progress was halted after the COVID-19 pandemic began.

   The cafe is located on the first floor and takes the place of the former school store, which sold common school supplies and school merchandise. Now, the store sells a variety of food and drinks, including cookies, chips, smoothies, pretzels, and coffee, all things not offered in the main cafeteria.

   “The big difference is that everything [at the cafeteria] has to be compliant with the USDA’s guidelines, and complete all the components of a lunch,” said Monique Graber, Food Services Director at the Princeton High School. “So we're selling all those different components down here at the main cafeteria with our main entrees, vegetables, fruits, and milk. But [at the new cafe], we are still compliant with school nutrition, but can sell snack items instead.”

   Unlike the main cafeteria, the new cafe is open during both the regular lunch period and one period after lunch, as well as during F Day Tiger Time. 

   “The goal was to have an area where kids could go, not during the lunch period, and kind of get snacks and other grab-and-go options,” said Graber. “Maybe when they were in between classes, or maybe during Tiger Time when the cafeteria wasn't open.”

   In general, the cafe aims to cut down on the line at the main cafeteria and provide a more accessible and convenient eating location for both staff and students. Additionally, the new cafe hopes to alleviate the risk of spreading COVID-19 that arises from the long lines at the regular cafeteria. For students, these new options and the smaller lines at the main cafeteria have not gone unnoticed.

   “I think [the new cafe] has its pros because it can take away a huge line that forms in the cafeteria where the vast majority [of students] get their food,” said Aiden Linkov ’24. “I think that [the line] is the main issue of the cafeteria that needs to be addressed, and if the school can find more ways to reduce the line that they have, then [getting lunch] will be more convenient.” 

   David Xu ’25 appreciates how the cafe allows him to eat something different every once in a while.

“Sometimes the food becomes repetitive with sandwiches and pasta everyday. Going to the new cafe makes lunch and sitting with your friends more enjoyable,” Xu said.

   So far, the cafe has been popular with the students, and Graber and the rest of the PHS Dining Services leadership team hope to keep it that way. 

   “If you guys keep telling us what you want, we can forward that to the principals and we can make stuff happen,'' said Graber. “Keep on letting us know what your thoughts are!”

New Tiger Cafe opens at PHS

Growing up, Timothy Campbell always knew he had a passion for politics and history. From engaging high school history classes to family Thanksgiving dinner conversations centered around politics, Campbell was drawn to the open and interpretive nature of the two fields. Now, as a history teacher at PHS, Campbell has led meaningful discussions about American history and contemporary events for 16 years.

Before coming to Princeton, Campbell was born and raised in Michigan, where he studied at Central Michigan University. With two teachers for parents, Campbell had always seen himself becoming a teacher in his own future. In college, Campbell tried to pursue his interest in political science as much as possible, majoring in secondary education with a focus on constitutional law and political science. By senior year, Campbell was amongst a select class of around 100 other interns at the White House.“I did a lot of correspondence, letter writing, setting up of meetings with potential appointees, and ... logistics of the correspondence,” said Campbell. “I had the best job because I had pretty much daily access and interaction with the President of the United States.”Following his internship, Campbell explored many different applications of his major, such as consulting and local campaigning. But he soon felt burnt out and realized he wanted to reignite his original passions in teaching.At the recommendation of a colleague, Campbell taught at Villa Victoria Academy, an all-girls private Catholic school, for three years. After researching New Jersey school districts more, Campbell came across PHS and was drawn to students’ drive for academic success. Campbell has always placed an emphasis on student growth and broadening perspectives rather than numerical grades. His classes are discussion-based, aimed toward encouraging open conversations on topics that may be difficult or controversial. Campbell believes this style of learning gives his students a safe place to discuss, especially if there are differing opinions.

“You don’t learn anything from just talking about or listening to opinions that are your own ... nobody ever died from listening. The worst thing that ever happens is that it solidifies your faith and your conviction in your own belief system ... [and] that’s a win-win,” said Campbell. “Silencing discourse, or not listening to [it], in addition to silencing people that you disagree with, [makes you] no better than the people that you disagree with. Campbell believes it is even more important to create such an environment given the turbulent political climate the country has been facing.“I’ve always been a firm believer in the idea that the most difficult conversations in life are all usually the most important,” said Campbell. “I understand [that]... in a school setting, [there is] an unwillingness or a level of discomfort, to have those difficult conversations in class whether it’s Black Lives Matter, abortion, guns, whatever it may be, but those are the important ones.”

Expanding on this, Campbell also believes that his students are in a place in their lives where conversation about these issues is uniquely important. “Having discourse and providing a place for young adults to start to talk about and think openly about these issues is important [because] come the next election, they’re going to have the opportunity to affect some sort of change,” Campbell said. Nicholas Matese ’24, a student in AP United States History with Campbell belives that Campbell’s efforts to include everyone in class discussions have been beneficial for students.“I like the fact that he makes sure everyone who wants to speak is able to speak,” said Matese.Campbell’s students also appreciate efforts to teach uncomfortable topics and tie them back to real life examples. “Especially in government and politics, there’s a lot more relevance to current events. ... The issues that he discusses with our Constitution are really being challenged every day in the political sphere,” said William Erickson ’22, who had Campbell for AP United States History and currently takes AP Government and Politics.To incorporate current event topics and introduce these difficult topics, Campbell goes beyond the textbook, using podcasts, documentaries, YouTube videos, and articles. He believes these mediums not only supplement his lessons, but also allow him to fill informational and educational gaps from the textbook.

Campbell recognizes COVID-19 as a major setback in the past two years since it prevented his favorite part of teaching—his daily interactions with his students. However, Campbell never lets them affect his goal and objective as a teacher. “There are always going to be frustrations in public education, but ... [I never lose] sight of the fact that the students that are sitting in front of [me] are the most important constituency that [I] serve. Nothing will ever cloud that,” Campbell said.

Outside of the classroom, Campbell is an avid sports fan who loves running as well as playing golf and hockey. On top of that, he also enjoys spending time with his children and often acts as their “taxi driver,” taking them to their many sports events. Campbell’s intended takeaway for his students is to pay attention to the world and to embrace their unique opinions. “I don’t care who they vote for. I would never do that. But just that [they] have a voice. And in this world where a lot of voices are silenced... you have a way of promoting change yourself,” said Campbell. “So that’s my biggest priority... that when they leave here, they go out into the world and they exercise that voice.”

The Tower

Brandon Zhu's Work

The Tower