John Prins
John Prins' father, Solomon, was a doctor in occupied Holland when he fled the country in 1941. He went to England where he met his wife Miriam. His final destination however, was the United States. He had only one connection there and he settled in Blackfoot, Idaho, where John was born. They moved to New York in order for his father to become certified in medicine in the United States. When John was five years old, they moved to Connecticut where his father worked at the Connecticut State Hospital, now the Connecticut Valley Hospital. They lived on the grounds of the hospital and he attended school in Middletown through high school.
John attended the Hartt School of music at the University of Hartford, majoring in piano performance, for one year. Then, through a program at the school, he spent a year in Israel. He chose to remain in Israel for a second year, living in a kibbutz. After he returned to the United States, he attended Mitchell College in New London. He transferred to the University of Connecticut and earned his BS degree in Political Science and it was there he met his wife, Ruth Berliner in 1977. While earning his MS degree in Labor Relations from Rutgers University, he became involved in that field for the New York Teamsters and moved to New Jersey. John remained involved with labor relations which brought him to Connecticut and finally to Branford in 1983. He worked for the New Haven Housing Authority and from 1985-1993 he worked at Yale, also in labor relations.
When John's children were young, he decided he should become more involved in their education and began to attend Board of Education meetings. He eventually chose to become a candidate for the Board as he was interested in many issues and wanted to be of service. He felt the focus of the Board of Education should always be on the students and he thought he could help bring consensus to the discussions and fresh ideas that might help them to think of new innovative solutions and programs. John was elected in 1999 and for the last thirteen years has been doing just that. He is known for supporting the arts in our schools, understanding their importance in our students' lives - just as they were important in his. He also always puts the students first despite any political pressure there may be surrounding an issue.
John and Ruth have two sons. Seth is in a PhD program at Columbia in psychiatric epidemiology and Adam is earning his MS degree at the University College in London where he is also applying for the PhD program in archeology. When John is not busy "visiting the boys", he enjoys biking but also still plays piano. Thankfully he accepts the challenge of playing some of the most difficult Broadway scores in our pit orchestra at the high school and he plays with his own band, the "Jassmen".
For the last thirteen years, John has made a real difference in the quality of education for Branford's children.
John attended the Hartt School of music at the University of Hartford, majoring in piano performance, for one year. Then, through a program at the school, he spent a year in Israel. He chose to remain in Israel for a second year, living in a kibbutz. After he returned to the United States, he attended Mitchell College in New London. He transferred to the University of Connecticut and earned his BS degree in Political Science and it was there he met his wife, Ruth Berliner in 1977. While earning his MS degree in Labor Relations from Rutgers University, he became involved in that field for the New York Teamsters and moved to New Jersey. John remained involved with labor relations which brought him to Connecticut and finally to Branford in 1983. He worked for the New Haven Housing Authority and from 1985-1993 he worked at Yale, also in labor relations.
When John's children were young, he decided he should become more involved in their education and began to attend Board of Education meetings. He eventually chose to become a candidate for the Board as he was interested in many issues and wanted to be of service. He felt the focus of the Board of Education should always be on the students and he thought he could help bring consensus to the discussions and fresh ideas that might help them to think of new innovative solutions and programs. John was elected in 1999 and for the last thirteen years has been doing just that. He is known for supporting the arts in our schools, understanding their importance in our students' lives - just as they were important in his. He also always puts the students first despite any political pressure there may be surrounding an issue.
John and Ruth have two sons. Seth is in a PhD program at Columbia in psychiatric epidemiology and Adam is earning his MS degree at the University College in London where he is also applying for the PhD program in archeology. When John is not busy "visiting the boys", he enjoys biking but also still plays piano. Thankfully he accepts the challenge of playing some of the most difficult Broadway scores in our pit orchestra at the high school and he plays with his own band, the "Jassmen".
For the last thirteen years, John has made a real difference in the quality of education for Branford's children.