Indian Fields principal of seven years says goodbye to school, district.
By: Melissa Hayes
Indian Fields said goodbye to Principal Ray Ivey in true school fashion Friday by meeting in the main hallway at the end of the day and clapping him out in the same way they do for outgoing fifth-graders each year.
"It’s been very pleasant, but it was time to move on," Mr. Ivey said Friday.
Mr. Ivey has been school principal for seven years and said goodbye to the school and district Friday.
"It’s interesting, the people you impact," he said, sitting in his office at a table covered in goodbye cards and pictures from students and thinking back on his time spent at the school.
On Friday, students and faculty wanted to say goodbye to their principal and held an assembly to do just that. Each grade performed a song or a skit, and there were many teary eyes in the room.
"It was very, very touching," he said.
The school also created a lasting tribute to Mr. Ivey. With some help from their art teachers, every student and teacher in the school painted a rock, which will make up a rock garden lining the exterior of the building and the courtyard. One particular rock had an ivy plant on it in honor of Mr. Ivey.
"That was something they gave to me. That they left to me," he said.
Mr. Ivey is retiring to spend more time with his family and says he’ll look back on his time at Indian Fields proudly.
"I felt I accomplished what I needed to accomplish," he said. "I have four children and four grandchildren and I don’t spend enough time with my children and grandchildren."
Mr. Ivey also will be dedicating his time to Freedom School, an educational summer program he founded that focuses on African and African-American history. The program is sponsored by Save the Children, a nationwide child advocacy program. Freedom School is currently run out of South Brunswick and was founded in 2001. The school is a five-week summer enrichment program during which students read African and African-American books, do spelling activities and math. The school is open to all students.
"Freedom School has always been put together at the last minute because of my work here," he said.
By retiring in the middle of the year he hopes to have more time to apply for grants and raise money for Freedom School. Mr. Ivey said he also hopes that leaving midyear will help his replacement, Andrea Orlando, transition into the position.
By coming in midyear, Ms. Orlando has the opportunity to observe the staff and make her own budget recommendations, whereas if she started in July she would have to work with everything Mr. Ivey had put in place for the following year, he said.
"You don’t think about it, but it makes a lot of sense," Mr. Ivey said.
Mr. Ivey has left an impact on the school, Superintendent Gary McCartney said.
"There was an incredible reaction to Ray during the time that he was principal there, and he was just a guy who always put kids first, cared deeply and left a mark on the school and he’s going to be greatly missed," Dr. McCartney said.
Mr. Ivey was the first to bring the Responsive Classroom to the school, a program that teaches students to communicate better with one another. Mr. Ivey learned about the technique while attending a workshop three years ago through the Northeast Foundation for Children.
"It’s just grown within the school from that," he said. "We have the largest Responsive Classroom in the district."
Every school in the district now uses some variant of the Responsive Classroom and all participate in the Wishes and Dreams Program, in which teachers meet with elementary school parents and students before the start of classes to learn about their wishes and dreams for the upcoming school year and to make the transition easier.
Although Mr. Ivey has officially retired, he isn’t saying goodbye just yet.
"I’m not just walking away," he said. "I’ll be back because there’s a few projects I want to see completed."
One particular project he’d like to see is the installation of new computers in the Dayton building, the 75-year-old school building that houses younger-grade students.
Although they have hired a replacement, Dr. McCartney said the school will not be the same in Mr. Ivey’s absence.
"He’s just a super guy. We’re really going to miss him," he said. "He had such incredible feeling for children and everybody associated with Indian Fields Elementary School knew that they could feel that."