CRANBURY: Board approves new curriculum head

By Kaitlyn Kanzler, Special Writer
   CRANBURY — The Cranbury Board of Education approved the appointment of a new Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction at its retreat in July.
   Bill Osman has 28 years of public school experience, including 16 years as a special and general education teacher and two years as a staff developer. He also has 10 years experience as a curricular supervisor with the Hamilton Township School District, which was his most recent job, where he focused on data-informed instruction in preparation for designing curriculum to meet the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and Common Core Standards, according to officials.
   His work also aimed to prepare students with what they need to be successful in work and life.
   ”Everyone has really been so warm and welcoming and, above all, helpful in this transition,” Mr. Osman said at Tuesday’s board meeting.
   Members welcomed Mr. Osman during the meeting, where Mr. Osman joked that they were finally able to put a face to the name.
   ”Our board is not like other boards,” President Lynne Schwarz said. “I hope that you’ll find us very collegial and welcoming.”
   Mr. Osman thanked the board as well as mathematics teacher, Linda Penney, outgoing curriculum supervisor, for her support in making his transition so smooth.
   Ms. Penney, Cranbury School’s first teacher of the year and Princeton University’s teacher of the year, retired at the end of the 2011-2012 school year.
   ”I know she’s been very important part of the history of Cranbury School and I know that she will be missed, but I know that she’s been in these hallways already so she’s not going to be far away,” Mr. Osman said.
   Mrs. Schwarz also said she hoped that Mr. Osman would play an active role in board meetings as Ms. Penney often did.
   According to Mr. Osman, he has seen several teachers getting their classrooms in order for the new year and saw his first “welcome” apple, which, to him, signifies the beginning of a new school year.
   ”I’ve been able to meet people and have had some really wonderful conversations already about the direction that they want to go in, in the 2012-13 school year,” Mr. Osman said.
   Mr. Osman is a graduate of Rutgers University and its graduate school with a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education, Elementary Education, and Art Education and a Master’s Degree in Administration and Supervisor of Elementary and Secondary Schools and Creative Arts Education in Curriculum and Instruction.
   According to Mr. Osman’s biography, he is the former president and a current Executive Board Member of Learning Forward New Jersey, previously the New Jersey Staff Development Council. He is also a liaison and governance council member at The College of New Jersey Professional Development School Network.
   Mr. Osman has received several awards for work in his field, including the Governor’s Teachers Recognition Program recipient, Developing Safe and Civil School’s Star Performer Award, and Kids Bridge Museum of Tolerance Humanitarian Award, according to the biography.
   He is also a four-time recipient of the Character Education Partnership’s Promising Practices Award for Staff Development.
   Mr. Osman is one of several new staff appointments that the board approved during the retreat.
   Other new staff members are Karin Weiner, a middle school math replacement teacher, Rebecca Franke, as a family leave replacement, and Mary DeMilt, a part-time school nurse.
   The first day of school for students at the Cranbury School is Sept. 6.