By Hilary Parker Special to The Packet
Boys learn differently. Values matter.
These were two thoughts paramount in the minds of the founders of Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart, who incorporated the school one decade ago. And, backed by commitment and determination, these beliefs have helped guide the successful growth of the school over the past 10 years.
On Oct. 10, the school community gathered at Founders’ Day to celebrate the school’s history and reflect on its mission.
“An education that teaches sound values is so important,” said Tom Byrne, a former chairman of Princeton Academy’s board, at the event. “An education that really addresses the needs of boys is important, as well. That’s why we wanted to start this school: to provide boys with the mix of a good education with wonderful teachers and also learn about religion, and God, and values at the same time.”
When the founders first incorporated the school in October 1998, they didn’t have a location. There was not yet a curriculum. And they had no idea that their founding headmaster, Olen Kalkus, was a few thousand miles away in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
At the time, Mr. Kalkus was the principal of the upper school at the International School of Prague. When he saw the posting for the Princeton Academy headmaster position on an independent school Web site, he was intrigued. A product of an all-boys school himself, he had experience working in both all-girls and all-boys schools, and was a proponent of single-gender education.
“I was also incredibly intrigued by the idea of a Sacred Heart school, and the values anchor it provides,” he said.
After opening in September 1999 with 34 boys in kindergarten through third grade, Princeton Academy now runs through eighth grade and has nearly 230 students. The school received accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools following the 2002-2003 school year and became a member of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools on April 26, 2008.
The opportunity to establish a boys’ school at a time when great strides are being made in the psychology and neuroscience of learning has enabled Princeton Academy to become what Mr. Kalkus calls “a boys’ school by design,” focused on meeting the unique emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of boys.
A voracious reader, Mr. Kalkus keeps himself up-to-date on the latest research, from new functional magnetic resonance imaging data on gender differences in brain activity to how different levels of neurotransmitters and hormones can make it harder for boys to sit still.
“There are differences in learning between the genders, but these differences aren’t limiting,” Mr. Kalkus said. “Understanding these developmental differences and addressing them will help students reach their full potentials.”
Mr. Kalkus will give a lecture on the latest research at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Oct. 28) in the Manor House at the school, located at 1129 The Great Road, Princeton, on the former Our Lady of Princeton site.
To keep Princeton Academy firmly grounded in the latest research, faculty meetings often revolve around discussions of gender issues in education, with teachers sharing best practices from their classroom experiences.
And the values of the Sacred Heart tradition are integral to the school, helping to cultivate faith, a respect for intellectual values and social awareness in the boys.
“The goal is to teach boys to do well, and also to do good,” Mr. Kalkus said.

