Maurice Hawk School

Maurice Hawk School in January 2022.

Historical Overview

Standing at 305 Clarksville Road is Maurice Hawk School - one of the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District's educational institutions. 

​In the early 1960s, West Windsor was at the start of its suburban growth. As more and more families began to move into town, the youth population began to grow. As early as 1961, West Windsor began discussions for the construction of a new elementary school. That year, the decision was made to name the new school after Maurice H. Hawk.[1] Born in 1881[2] - reputedly at the Schenck Farmstead[3] -  Maurice (pronounced "Morris") joined the West Windsor Board of Education in 1914 and served as its Secretary for the next 44 years.[4] He was also West Windsor Township's Treasurer for 39 years (1931-70).[5] 

On May 8, 1962, referendum voters approved the construction of this $725,000 school to be built on a 20-acre tract on Clarksville Road, directly next to the old, wooden, mid-1800s  "Princeton Junction Parsonage" schoolhouse.[6] Plans for the structure, designed to accommodate 425 students, had by then been architects Albert Micklewright and Samuel Mountford, architects of Trenton.[7],[8]

Maurice H. Hawk

At the time, Maurice Hawk School was to be just one of three educational institutions in West Windsor - the other two being Dutch Neck School and the long-gone Penns Neck School, both constructed in 1917.[9] As Maurice Hawk School was being built discussions accelerated about relocating the Penns Neck School's students to Maurice Hawk, due to the Penns Neck School's outdated and smaller facilities.[10] 

The Maurice Hawk school opened on April 6, 1964, with an initial class of 64 students.[11] Its first acting principal was Superintendent Frank J. Walton, who served while a permanent replacement was found.[12] Within a few months, Shelton Stern was hired as the first permanent principal.[13]

However, by 1966, a new Principal had assumed leadership: Anthony Razzano.[14] Following him was:

• Arthur C. Downs (from 1969-1978)[15],[16]
• Donald M. Rizzo (1978-1998)[17],[18]
• Denise A. Mengani (1998-2013)[19],[20]
• Patricia Buell (2014-2022)[19],[21]
• Sara Bright (2022-Present)[22],[23]

Over the years, the school has expanded significantly as West Windsor's population grew. In 1967 - just three years after the school opened - a wing of about a dozen classrooms was added to the rear (around where the car is parked in the back of the school in the rendering below).[24],[25],[26] Twenty years later, eight more classrooms were added to the east of that wing.[27],[28],[29] Further modular renovations were made in 2007.[30] Finally, in 2018, construction began on a 30,000 square foot addition designed by FVHD Architects - a descendant of Micklewright and Mountford's business. This new construction, which covered the original front façade, houses many more classrooms, resource rooms, an administrative office, and a secured main entry.[31],[32],[33],[34] 

Maurice Hawk school is much larger and than and updated from its original structure. However, in the center of it all is the original school construction of the mid-1960s. It remains a memorial to a longtime township leader and continues to serve many local children, as it has done over these many years.

Architect's conceptual rendering of Maurice Hawk school in 1962.

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Bibliography

1. “Windsor Township To Name School After Maurice Hawk.” Trenton Sunday Times-Advertiser, December 31, 1961. 
2. ​Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church. (n.d.). Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church graveyard. West Windsor. Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church graveyard gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there - including those of many of West Windsor's oldest families.​
3. Mitchell, James. “Maurice H. Hawk,” 1963. 
4. “Maurice H. Hawk, School Board Aid.” Trenton Evening Times, August 30, 1972. 
5. ​​“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
6. ​“West Windsor Voting Today on New School School.” Trenton Evening Times, May 8, 1962. 
7. “Maurice Hawk School.” Hand-drawn conceptual rendering of Maurice Hawk School, 1962. Minklewright and Mountford, n.d. 50 Southfield Road, West Windsor NJ. 1962. Located (in 2023) in the West Windsor History Museum.
8. ​“May 8 Tentative Date To Vote On New School.” Trenton Evening Times, March 27, 1962. 
9. ​“To Vote on Sale of Four Schools.” Trenton Evening Times, October 29, 1917. Mentions that "...the children of the township (are) now being taught in the fine new graded schools at Dutch Neck and Penn's Grove."​​
10. “Hawk School Opens Doors Tomorrow.” Trenton Sunday Times Advertiser, April 5, 1964.
11. Ibid.
12. “West Windsor Narrows Field For School Post.” Trenton Evening Times, May 19, 1964.
13. “School Board Opposes West Windsor Center.” Trenton Evening Times, June 16, 1964.
14. “Principal Named.” Princeton Herald, August 4, 1966. 
15. “Hawk School Opens Doors Tomorrow.” Trenton Sunday Times Advertiser, April 5, 1964.
16. “Principals Switched.” Town Topics, May 31, 1978.
17. ​Ibid.
18. ​Alvarado, Ivette P. “Curriculum Chief Hired; Principal Switches Schools.” Home News Tribune. July 24, 1998. 
19. Ibid.
20. Kim, Hye-Jin. “New Leadership at Maurice Hawk.” West Windsor and Plainsboro News. Community News Service, August 8, 2014. https://www.communitynews.org/news/new-leadership-at-maurice-hawk/article_2580210c-0025-50f4-bde3-a24162975a11.html. 
21. Ibid.
22. “Sara Bright Twitter Post: Aug. 17, 2022.” Twitter. Twitter, August 17, 2022. https://twitter.com/saralizbright?lang=en. Sarah Bright's Twitter post from Aug. 17, 2022. Full text: "During the fall of 2006, I accepted my first teaching position at @MauriceHawkWWP. Today I am lucky to return and serve the community as principal. #FullCircleMoment #HawkIsHappening"
23. “Maurice Hawk Elementary.” MAURICE HAWK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. Accessed January 27, 2023. https://www.west-windsor-plainsboro.k12.nj.us/schools/maurice_hawk_elementary. 
24. “Bank Gets Bond Issue.” Town Topics, July 27, 1967.
25. "West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1965.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1965.
26. "West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1975.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1975.
27. “Growing West Windsor School District Awaits Opening of New Middle School.” Town Topics, March 25, 1987.
28. "West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1985.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1985.
29. "West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1990.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1990.
30. “DISTRICT LANDMARKS: SCHOOL OPENINGS/RENOVATIONS ,” 2015. Accessed online at: https://www.west-windsor-plainsboro.k12.nj.us/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=45611092
31. “FVHD Architects-Planners, Serving New Jersey (NJ) & Pennsylvania (PA).” Fraytak Veisz Hopkins Duthie, P.C. FVHD Architects & Planners. Accessed January 27, 2023. https://fvhdpc.com/about/history. 
32. “Maurice Hawk Elementary School.” Fraytak Veisz Hopkins Duthie, P.C. FVHD Architects & Planners. Accessed January 27, 2023. https://fvhdpc.com/portfolio/details.aspx?projectid=829. 
33. "West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, May 2018.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, May 2018.
34. "West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, August 2018.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, August 2018.