Cecilia X. Birge, who teaches math and special education, has been named acting assistant principal at Princeton High School.
Birge, who assumed her new duties on July 29, was appointed to her new post at the Princeton Public Schools Board of Education’s July 28 meeting.
She will be paid $114,000 per year.
Birge is filling the vacancy created by the transfer of former Princeton High School Assistant Principal Angela Siso Stentz to the Johnson Park School. Siso Stentz is the acting principal at the elementary school.
Birge joins Rashone Johnson and Jared Warren as the assistant principals at Princeton High School. The high school administrative team consists of Principal Jessica Baxter and three assistant principals.
“We are very pleased that Cecilia Birge will be an assistant principal at Princeton High School,” said Barry Galasso, the interim superintendent of schools.
Galasso praised Birge, noting she is an outstanding teacher and an accomplished educator.
Princeton High School math teacher Jennifer Li told the school board she was excited to see Birge become the district’s first Chinese American administrator.
“I never had a Chinese American or Asian American mentor to look up to. I was so lucky to have colleagues like Cecilia who mentored me. She helped me to become a more thoughtful teacher. I am so excited to be working with her in her new role as acting assistant principal.
“We talk about equity in the district, but as a Chinese American woman, I often feel left out in the discussions of equity. Her appointment is a turning point. [We need to] encourage the district to find ways to be more inclusive,” Li said.
In addition to teaching math and special education, Birge has been the head coach for the high school’s speech and debate team since 2015. She has been the assistant coach of the high school’s girls volleyball team, and also coached its junior varsity volleyball team.
Birge taught at Princeton High School in 2012, but left to teach at the Dwight Morrow School in Englewood. She returned to Princeton High in 2015.
During her time at Princeton High, Birge has been a community liaison with the district’s Chinese American community, school district officials said. She has worked with the high school guidance counselors and the school district administration to bridge cultural gaps and promote a continuing dialogue on race relations.
Birge also has helped community organizations to identify and support families that have suffered from financial and other hardships.
The new acting assistant principal earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Bryn Mawr College and a master’s degree from Teachers College of Columbia University.