Principal eyes move to Hopewell district

The principal of Peter Muschal Elementary School in Bordentown Township may move to the Stony Brook Elementary School in Pennington.

By: William Wichert
   The principal of Peter Muschal Elementary School in Bordentown Township may soon be heading out of town to a new job with the Hopewell Valley Regional School District in Mercer County.
   At the Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education meeting last night (Wednesday), that district’s superintendent, Nick Lorenzetti, was expected to recommend Kate Napolitano-Burke to be the next principal of Stony Brook Elementary School in Pennington.
   "I think the consideration was a lot based on personal growth and new challenges," said Ms. Napolitano-Burke, principal at Peter Muschal since 1997, who said she applied for the Hopewell job after seeing a newspaper ad for it in the summer. "I just think it’s a fabulous opportunity for me."
   Ms. Napolitano-Burke, a Hamilton Township resident, said she is very familiar with the Hopewell area, but said leaving Bordentown still presented some mixed emotions.
   "It’s just been fabulous. I love the community. I love the students," she said. "I think it’s a fabulous district, and I’m happy about its future."
   Bordentown Regional Superintendent John Polomano said the district is completely supportive of Ms. Napolitano-Burke’s decision to leave the school system.
   "I wish her all the best," said Mr. Polomano. "If she decides to go to Hopewell, our loss will be their gain."
   Given a 60-day clause in her contract, Ms. Napolitano-Burke must give at least two-months’ notice before leaving her position at Peter Muschal, he said. "Kate and Hopewell are very aware that we want to make a smooth transition," he said.
   Mr. Lorenzetti and other Hopewell school officials visited Bordentown on Dec. 1 to discuss Ms. Napolitano-Burke’s qualifications with Mr. Polomano as well as with parents and teachers from Peter Muschal, he said. "It’s a very cordial situation, nothing hidden," said Mr. Polomano.
   Of Ms. Napolitano-Burke, Mr. Lorenzetti said on Dec. 1: "She has all the qualities we expect of our principals in Hopewell Valley — creativity, flexibility, sensitivity, and, above all, a deep commitment to seeing that every child in her building succeeds. She will be an excellent fit for Stony Brook and Hopewell Valley."
   According to a Hopewell Valley Regional spokeswoman, Ms. Napolitano-Burke’s selection to lead Stony Brook would "be a boost for one of Lorenzetti’s major initiatives, the teaching model known as differentiated instruction, which shuns single-approach teaching in favor of individualized instruction."
   Like Mr. Lorenzetti, the spokeswoman said, Ms. Napolitano-Burke is a proponent of differentiated instruction, having led teacher workshops in several districts on the subject.
   "There’s so much out there. You really have to spur kids’ interests at an early age," said Ms. Napolitano-Burke, who said she believed in combining different school subjects into each lesson. "I think everything should be connected, and that creates balance."
   Ms. Napolitano-Burke said she also was interested in Stony Brook Elementary School’s fine arts and visual arts programs. She said she would like to train teachers and teach some classes of her own as well. "It’s my love," she said. "I’m still a teacher."
   A former vice principal at Bordentown Regional High School, Ms. Napolitano-Burke was a middle and high school science and English teacher in the East Windsor Regional School District, where she served as science supervisor and director of its adult and community education program.
   A past member of the New Jersey Energy Education Advisory Committee and Council on Elementary Science Education, she has instructed other teachers on inquiry-based science teaching methods and has written and edited articles for science and education periodicals.
   A one-time writer and editor for the New Jersey Content Standards Project, Ms. Napolitano-Burke has worked as a consultant for the Princeton University Program in Teacher Preparation and the Merck Institute for Science Education. She has served as a coordinator for the Institute for New Science Teachers at Rutgers University.
   Ms. Napolitano-Burke has participated in several study programs abroad – as a Shakespeare scholar at Oxford University, with the Caribbean Marine Biology Institute in Curacao and in subtropical ichthyology (the branch of zoology that studies fish) in San Salvador and the Bahamas.
   If hired by Hopewell, Ms. Napolitano-Burke would make $112,000 a year, compared to her annual Bordentown salary of $100,300. She holds a master’s degree in education from Trenton State College and degrees in English and biology from Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y.

Ruth Luse, managing editor of the Hopewell Valley News, contributed to this story.