e86a2375112e2d19078cd7306241621e.jpg

HIGHTSTOWN: Elementary principal announces retirement

Heidi Franzo will be saying goodbye after 40 years in education at the East Windsor Regional School District.

HIGHTSTOWN — Heidi Franzo will be saying goodbye after 40 years in education at the East Windsor Regional School District.
   The principal at Walter C. Black Elementary School announced her plans to retire at the beginning of July. She served as the school’s principal for more than 16 years and spent a year and a half as the school’s assistant principal.
   ”She has worked in three different schools, but she has been an administrator at the Walter C. Black School for 18 years,” Superintendent of Schools Edward Forsthoffer said.
   June 24, the Board of Education appointed Samantha Rozycki, assistant principal of Melvin H. Kreps Middle School, to replace Ms. Franzo.
   ”I have had a wonderful career,” said Ms. Franzo, of East Windsor.
   During her career, she taught students in grades three to six and served as an administrator for grades kindergarten through five and grades six to eight in addition to taking on district responsibilities such as affirmative action, basic skills coordinator and bilingual coordinator.
   According to Ms. Franzo, each position and age level presented “its challenges and rewards.”
   Ms. Franzo’s career path seemed to be predetermined in a sense, as “options were limited,” she said.
   ”(For) my generation, all females were guided to become a teacher, a nurse or a secretary,” Ms. Franzo said.
   Her inspiration came from wanting to be like her favorite teachers.
   ”I loved school,” Ms. Franzo said. “I wanted to emulate my favorite teachers.”
   Ms. Franzo said she will miss her students and colleagues.
   ”I will miss the hellos, the hugs around the waist and sharing passages with the families and my teachers,” Ms. Franzo said.
   She plans to “rest a bit” and “reprioritize” before deciding what she would like to do with the next chapter of her life.
   ”I have been professionally gratified to have been a principal at WCB for the length of time that I was together with staff and parents,” Ms. Franzo said. “We were able to create and maintain a wonderful learning environment for our students.”
   Superintendent Forsthoffer said, “Ms. Franzo will be most remembered for her caring nature. She is a child-centered leader and beloved by everyone.”