of Freehold Township has
held top post since 1995
Barbara McMorrow
of Freehold Township has
held top post since 1995
By dick metzgar
Staff Writer
JERRY WOLKOWITZ Barbara McMorrow, who has been principal of Howell High School since 1995, is particularly proud of the accomplishments made by students in the areas of fine and performing arts, the humanities and technology.
HOWELL — After several decades of working in the field of education, both as a teacher and as an administrator, Barbara McMorrow has lost none of her enthusiasm.
For more than 12 years, McMorrow has apparently maintained that enthusiasm at Howell High School as supervisor of the English department, as assistant principal and in her current position as principal.
Many positive changes have occurred at Howell since she left Freehold Borough High School in December 1990 after 19 years as a journalism teacher and transferred to Howell to head the English department, McMorrow said.
She became an assistant principal in March 1992 and then took over as Howell’s principal in July 1995, replacing Harvey Casey, who retired.
McMorrow, a resident of Freehold Township, demonstrated that same enthusiasm while serving as a member of the Borough Council in Freehold Borough during the early 1990s. She resigned from that position after taking over as Howell’s principal.
"I knew there was a lot of work to be done, but I had a vision for the school," McMorrow said in an interview this week. "I felt that with all the years I had been in the (Freehold Regional High School) district, I had the experience, enthusiasm and new ideas to have a positive impact on the school."
These included additions and improvements to the school facilities and new and expanded educational programs, McMorrow said.
The building additions and improvements were paid for through a $69 million referendum that was approved by district voters in 2000, according to McMorrow. Howell received $8.9 million through the referendum.
The new additions were opened in September, the principal said. The project included three new art rooms with natural lighting, the addition of an auxiliary gymnasium to accommodate the school’s enrollment growth and the conversion of two old art rooms into physics labs. The project also provided additional space for other departments, McMorrow said.
The emergence of a fine arts and performing arts learning center in the building has been a special improvement for the school, the principal said.
"We are able to give our students training in such arts as acting, dancing, writing and video," McMorrow said. "This program has been extremely successful. It brings a great deal of joy to me."
The Humanities School Center is another source of pride for the school, she said.
"This is an arts-and-literature-based program in which various cultures are studied," McMorrow explained. "It is pretty demanding and is aimed at students planning to attend college. It is intended to make their freshman year in college easier."
One of the school’s technology programs — Students Teaching Educational Administration and Leaders in Technology at Howell (STEALTH) — is the only one of its kind in the regional district, Mc-Morrow said.
"This is a state-of-the-art technology program," she said. "It is nationally recognized. All of our classrooms now have computers. There are two computers to a room, one for the teacher and the other for the students."
The school also offers a home instruction program through the use of computers, McMorrow said.
"We call it distance learning," she explained. "This is very beneficial to students who are unable to come to the school. These students and the teachers are able to communicate through computers and (TV) monitors."
A renaissance program designed to award students for their academic performance has been operational for about 10 years, the principal said.
"Students who get all A’s in their courses are given a gold ID card," she said. "Students who have all A’s and B’s are given blue ID cards. Students who are deemed to be the most improved — this must be signified by the signatures of three teachers — are given white ID cards. This is a nationally recognized program that applauds and recognizes academic achievement."
McMorrow said her enthusiasm in dealing with high school students has never waned.
Some things in moving from Freehold Borough to Howell have never changed, she said.
"I have found the same caring staff and students," she said.