Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
The Weehawken Board of Education - Update on Search for Superintendent
| Weehawken Parents - We would like your opinion.
Please let us know your views on the Discussion Board. |
Message from the Weehawken Board of Education
The Weehawken Board of Education would like to update our district on the groundwork we’re laying for its search for superintendent.
The board has determined that to optimize our search for a superintendent, we must first set clear goals for a strategic education plan for our district. We will then use that plan as a basis for interviewing and selecting the best candidate for superintendent. Toward that end, the board, along with Interim Superintendent Dr. John Fitzsimons, has prepared a set of multi-year goals with a projected maximum of five-years, predicated on feedback from all the critical stakeholders in the community.
Now that we have received feedback from the parents, Dr. Fitzsimons will finalize his draft of multi-year goals to present to the board at its April meeting, with the board making its own additional recommendations and revisions. These goals will serve to anchor the school system and provide a direction for the district over the next five years. After those goals are incorporated into a job description, we will then begin our search of candidate for superintendent, with the aid of a search professional, to lead us in our chosen direction.
Input for our multi-year district goals has been obtained from administrators, board-members, and teachers, both via survey and face-to-face meetings. Input has also been sought from parents using both an online survey and handouts, followed by a face-to-face between Interim Supt. Dr. Fitzsimons and parent-teacher organizations of all three schools for additional feedback. Both Dr. Fitzsimons and the board are synthesizing this information, which includes our district's academic, financial and capital improvement goals, and analysing it in the light of our actual financial resources.
The board’s search committee will then use our finalized set of multi-year goals to interview applicants, obtained with the aid of a search professional, for school superintendent. We require a superintendent who has the experience, enthusiasm and know-how to implement those goals, as well as the leadership ability to galvanize the stakeholders behind him or her.
Searching for our next superintendent is something we will do step-by-step, using the best judgment of board members, administrators, while keeping in mind the views and values of our teachers and parents. Thank you for your input thus far, and we will continue to keep you apprised.
The Weehawken Board of Education |
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Weehawken Students Win $1,000 and Give to Special Olympics NJ
NJ.com, 16-Apr-15
By Laura Herzog
Weehawken High School's basic technology teacher Laura Sciortino has been volunteering for the Special Olympics since she was a teenager, "all the way back in '89," she said.
So, to her, it was especially heartwarming to see her students receiving a $1,000 check on Wednesday from a Cablevision charity program - only to present it to a board member from the Special Olympics of New Jersey.
The students were all in the Weehawken High School Peer Leadership club that Sciortino has advised for 13 years.
The Special Olympics is "just something that I always felt close to. It was part of my church," she said. "There's this unity there."
The money comes through Cablevision's Optimum Community initiative Charity Champions, which "promotes volunteerism and encourages high schools to raise funds for a charity of their choice," according to a press release.
This is the second year that the students have won money from Cablevison's now six-year-old program, formerly called "Power to Learn," the release stated. Selected schools receive $500 "in seed money" to put towards future fundraising efforts, in addition to a $1,000 donation to their charity of choice.
Based on their annual fundraising efforts, which are submitted to Cablevision in April, a school will be chosen for a grand prize winner in each of the six tri-state regions to receive an additional $5,000 for their charity, according to Cablevision.
Besides independently raising $800 this year for the Special Olympics prior to receiving this check, Weehawken students in the peer leaders club are learning about learning about cooperation and teamwork, Sciortino said.
Making "a difference in the community makes them busy, so that they're not going to be involved with drugs and alcohol," Sciortino said.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
Weehawken High School Presents "“The Music Man”
| If you have attended, what do you think of it?
Please comment on the Weehawken Discussion Board. |
 |
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Monday, April 6, 2015
Fond retirement farewell for Weehawken five
Hudson Report, 5-Apr-15
By Jim Hague
When administrators in a town or a school retire, they finally get their much needed free time, but the move also causes sadness for the students and community and a challenge for the district or township to fill their shoes.
Recently, Weehawken lost five influential leaders of government and the schools at the same time. Five well respected and dedicated men have decided to retire almost simultaneously, taking more than a collective 150 years of experience with them.
Weehawken Township Manager James Marchetti has retired after spending a quarter-century working for the town, the last 23 as Mayor Richard Turner’s right-hand man and daily caretaker of township responsibilities.
Then, Dr. Peter Olivieri put in his retirement papers after spending an incredible 50 years in the school district, the last 41 as the Weehawken High School principal.
Also, Kevin McLellan retired after 27 years in the school district, the last 20 as the superintendent of schools.
Fred Lorenz, who already had a 30-year career in the Weehawken Police Department and retired as a captain, retired once again after spending the last 20 years as the chief attendance officer for the school district.
And Tom Rovito, the proprietor of the old Gennaro’s bar and nightclub in the Weehawken Shades area, retired after 33 years in the school district as a custodian and eventually the buildings and grounds superintendent and educational facilities manager.
Collectively, they’ve got a lot of stories to tell and history to share.
Men of honor
Mayor Turner praised the men for their service to the township and the school district.
“It’s very unusual to have so many retire together,” Turner said. “In today’s day and age, it’s unusual for them to have them stay at the same job and retire. They all had their hearts in the right place. They served the town and the schools well. It’s part of that small town feel, where everyone knows each other. There was always continuity. They were always there.”
Of course, Turner had a special feel for Marchetti, who has been replaced as township manager by former assistant manager Gio Amad.
“I’ve been the mayor for 24 years and Jimmy has been my right hand man for all that time,” Turner said. “We fit together like a hand in the glove. Whatever had to be done, Jimmy did it. I knew Jimmy’s style and Jimmy knew mine. We always complemented each other.”
Marchetti worked in the private sector at places like Chase & Sanborn coffee, Coca-Cola and Great Bear Water before getting a break from former Weehawken Mayor Stanley Iacono to do some special projects.
That led to Marchetti becoming assistant township manager under Turner, who had held that role before being elected to the Township Council and eventually being selected as mayor in 1990. When Turner became mayor, Marchetti became township manager.
Since 1989, Marchetti has not only served as township manager, but he also serves on the boards for the Housing Authority and Housing Resource Center.
“I was very honored to take the job back then,” Marchetti said. “It’s been a pleasure and an honor to serve the town. I was able to witness tremendous development on the waterfront. I’m proud of what we did with recreation and the facilities. We also had good senior citizen programs. I was just carrying out the policies of the mayor and township council. I always made it my practice to treat everyone fair, whether it was the residents, the employees or the elected officials.”
Marchetti thanked the workers of the township, who helped him along.
“I have to thank the employees, the little guys, who supported me every day,” Marchetti said. “If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to do my job. I’m very proud of the position I held and the work I did. I tried my best over the years. I think I had a good relationship with everyone and I got great guidance from Mayor Turner. I’ll always be proud of Weehawken.”
Watching the kids grow up
Olivieri began as a science teacher at the old Woodrow Wilson School (now part of the Union City cluster of schools), then became the assistant principal at Wilson and in 1977, moved on to become the principal at Weehawken High.
“I’ve been here almost through four generations of kids,” Olivieri said via a phone interview from Florida. “When I wrote my letter, I said I was doing it with mixed emotions, because I felt like I’d always be here. But after 50 years, I’m getting a little older. I want to spend a little more time with my wife and kids. It’s hard to leave, but I’m leaving the school in good hands.”
Steve Spinosa, who was the long-time band director at the school, is now the principal.
“I was mentoring him and I felt good about him replacing me,” Olivieri said. “I know I’m going to remember all the kids. They’ve done so many great things. I think I helped improving their education and the overall mentality of the school. We were ranked No. 29 among New Jersey high schools last year. I loved seeing the kids succeed and go on to some great schools. I was able to do some good things as an educator and a social worker and you can’t do that selling widgets.”
Olivieri said that he may try his hand at a new career – acting.
“My son is an actor,” Olivieri said. “He said that they’re always looking for older guys to play bit parts. He said he was going to introduce me to some people, so if I get bored, I’ll try that.”
McLellan came to Weehawken from Union City after serving as a teacher there for seven years. He was hired as an assistant principal to Olivieri in 1988, then served as the Board of Education secretary from 1992 through 1995 and became the superintendent of schools when Joseph Wisniewski retired in 1995.
“I think it’s time,” McLellan said. “I needed a change. It was a personal thing that told me it was time. This was as far as I could take the district. I feel one of the biggest accomplishments was having a full day Pre-K [for 4-year-olds]. I think the technology component was critical. We were one of the first in the county to offer technology curriculum. I think our test scores reflected that we were very competitive with our districts our size. I think the quality of college acceptances and scholarships is tremendous.
Added McLellan, “We expanded our performing arts program and started with Inside Broadway, a private firm that helped teach our students. We made a constant commitment to drama and fine arts and were well rounded there. We also instituted grade clustering and that has been successful.”
Since 1995, all of the district’s Pre-K through third grade students attend one school (Webster) and fourth through sixth attend another (Roosevelt). The seventh and eighth graders go to a portion of Weehawken High School.
McLellan said that he will serve as a mentor to other school superintendents in the state as a certified state mentor.
“We can help other people in the business,” McLellan said.
Lorenz became involved in the field of education as basically a truant officer, but that role expanded over the years.
“I went around and checked addresses to see if the students were legitimate residents,” Lorenz said. “I found kids in Little Ferry, Elizabeth, even New York City. We had to weed out the ones who weren’t living here.”
Lorenz also spent 15 years on the Board of Education, serving both as president and vice-president.
Rovito, who is Lorenz’s brother-in-law, said that he will always remember the role the Weehawken schools played during the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy.
“We had to all pull together as a community,” Rovito said. “We had to provide shelter for the refugees, feed them and medicate and care for the injured. We put in generators to make sure we were ready for anything further and they came in handy for Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. You never realize what you’re doing until you do it.”
Turner said that it’s never easy replacing people who dedicated their lives to the betterment of the township.
“We’ve replaced them with less experienced people, so there’s a transition period of about four-to-five months,” Turner said. “We also have a tremendous turnover in our police and the North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue. We lose a little bit of the knowledge that these people had in the town and school district. We lose a little momentum.”
Added Turner, “But we’re not crippled by it. It’s a learning experience. It’s a little bit of a burden to lose so many people at once, but we’ll survive. It’s hard to find the same sense and feel that these people had.”
Not to mention the sense of love and loyalty to the residents and students of Weehawken.
Recently, Weehawken lost five influential leaders of government and the schools at the same time. Five well respected and dedicated men have decided to retire almost simultaneously, taking more than a collective 150 years of experience with them.
Weehawken Township Manager James Marchetti has retired after spending a quarter-century working for the town, the last 23 as Mayor Richard Turner’s right-hand man and daily caretaker of township responsibilities.
Then, Dr. Peter Olivieri put in his retirement papers after spending an incredible 50 years in the school district, the last 41 as the Weehawken High School principal.
Also, Kevin McLellan retired after 27 years in the school district, the last 20 as the superintendent of schools.
Fred Lorenz, who already had a 30-year career in the Weehawken Police Department and retired as a captain, retired once again after spending the last 20 years as the chief attendance officer for the school district.
And Tom Rovito, the proprietor of the old Gennaro’s bar and nightclub in the Weehawken Shades area, retired after 33 years in the school district as a custodian and eventually the buildings and grounds superintendent and educational facilities manager.
Collectively, they’ve got a lot of stories to tell and history to share.
Men of honor
Mayor Turner praised the men for their service to the township and the school district.
“It’s very unusual to have so many retire together,” Turner said. “In today’s day and age, it’s unusual for them to have them stay at the same job and retire. They all had their hearts in the right place. They served the town and the schools well. It’s part of that small town feel, where everyone knows each other. There was always continuity. They were always there.”
Of course, Turner had a special feel for Marchetti, who has been replaced as township manager by former assistant manager Gio Amad.
“I’ve been the mayor for 24 years and Jimmy has been my right hand man for all that time,” Turner said. “We fit together like a hand in the glove. Whatever had to be done, Jimmy did it. I knew Jimmy’s style and Jimmy knew mine. We always complemented each other.”
Marchetti worked in the private sector at places like Chase & Sanborn coffee, Coca-Cola and Great Bear Water before getting a break from former Weehawken Mayor Stanley Iacono to do some special projects.
That led to Marchetti becoming assistant township manager under Turner, who had held that role before being elected to the Township Council and eventually being selected as mayor in 1990. When Turner became mayor, Marchetti became township manager.
Since 1989, Marchetti has not only served as township manager, but he also serves on the boards for the Housing Authority and Housing Resource Center.
“I was very honored to take the job back then,” Marchetti said. “It’s been a pleasure and an honor to serve the town. I was able to witness tremendous development on the waterfront. I’m proud of what we did with recreation and the facilities. We also had good senior citizen programs. I was just carrying out the policies of the mayor and township council. I always made it my practice to treat everyone fair, whether it was the residents, the employees or the elected officials.”
Marchetti thanked the workers of the township, who helped him along.
“I have to thank the employees, the little guys, who supported me every day,” Marchetti said. “If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to do my job. I’m very proud of the position I held and the work I did. I tried my best over the years. I think I had a good relationship with everyone and I got great guidance from Mayor Turner. I’ll always be proud of Weehawken.”
Watching the kids grow up
Olivieri began as a science teacher at the old Woodrow Wilson School (now part of the Union City cluster of schools), then became the assistant principal at Wilson and in 1977, moved on to become the principal at Weehawken High.
“I’ve been here almost through four generations of kids,” Olivieri said via a phone interview from Florida. “When I wrote my letter, I said I was doing it with mixed emotions, because I felt like I’d always be here. But after 50 years, I’m getting a little older. I want to spend a little more time with my wife and kids. It’s hard to leave, but I’m leaving the school in good hands.”
Steve Spinosa, who was the long-time band director at the school, is now the principal.
“I was mentoring him and I felt good about him replacing me,” Olivieri said. “I know I’m going to remember all the kids. They’ve done so many great things. I think I helped improving their education and the overall mentality of the school. We were ranked No. 29 among New Jersey high schools last year. I loved seeing the kids succeed and go on to some great schools. I was able to do some good things as an educator and a social worker and you can’t do that selling widgets.”
Olivieri said that he may try his hand at a new career – acting.
“My son is an actor,” Olivieri said. “He said that they’re always looking for older guys to play bit parts. He said he was going to introduce me to some people, so if I get bored, I’ll try that.”
McLellan came to Weehawken from Union City after serving as a teacher there for seven years. He was hired as an assistant principal to Olivieri in 1988, then served as the Board of Education secretary from 1992 through 1995 and became the superintendent of schools when Joseph Wisniewski retired in 1995.
“I think it’s time,” McLellan said. “I needed a change. It was a personal thing that told me it was time. This was as far as I could take the district. I feel one of the biggest accomplishments was having a full day Pre-K [for 4-year-olds]. I think the technology component was critical. We were one of the first in the county to offer technology curriculum. I think our test scores reflected that we were very competitive with our districts our size. I think the quality of college acceptances and scholarships is tremendous.
Added McLellan, “We expanded our performing arts program and started with Inside Broadway, a private firm that helped teach our students. We made a constant commitment to drama and fine arts and were well rounded there. We also instituted grade clustering and that has been successful.”
Since 1995, all of the district’s Pre-K through third grade students attend one school (Webster) and fourth through sixth attend another (Roosevelt). The seventh and eighth graders go to a portion of Weehawken High School.
McLellan said that he will serve as a mentor to other school superintendents in the state as a certified state mentor.
“We can help other people in the business,” McLellan said.
Lorenz became involved in the field of education as basically a truant officer, but that role expanded over the years.
“I went around and checked addresses to see if the students were legitimate residents,” Lorenz said. “I found kids in Little Ferry, Elizabeth, even New York City. We had to weed out the ones who weren’t living here.”
Lorenz also spent 15 years on the Board of Education, serving both as president and vice-president.
Rovito, who is Lorenz’s brother-in-law, said that he will always remember the role the Weehawken schools played during the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy.
“We had to all pull together as a community,” Rovito said. “We had to provide shelter for the refugees, feed them and medicate and care for the injured. We put in generators to make sure we were ready for anything further and they came in handy for Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. You never realize what you’re doing until you do it.”
Turner said that it’s never easy replacing people who dedicated their lives to the betterment of the township.
“We’ve replaced them with less experienced people, so there’s a transition period of about four-to-five months,” Turner said. “We also have a tremendous turnover in our police and the North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue. We lose a little bit of the knowledge that these people had in the town and school district. We lose a little momentum.”
Added Turner, “But we’re not crippled by it. It’s a learning experience. It’s a little bit of a burden to lose so many people at once, but we’ll survive. It’s hard to find the same sense and feel that these people had.”
Not to mention the sense of love and loyalty to the residents and students of Weehawken.
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