It is a tradition in the Freehold Regional High School District to recognize a Teacher of the Year in each of the six high schools, and now district administrators have recognized six recipients with a Support Staff Employee of the Year award.
“I think anyone who has spent any time in public education knows that in our high schools there are a number of support staff members who make real differences in kids’ lives on a daily basis,” Superintendent of Schools Charles Sampson said at a recent Board of Education meeting.
“[These employees] really are the first line, the first contact, for many of our children, and who really are the glue of the school district in terms of the interaction with some of our more needy students, in many cases,” he said.
The recipients of the award are Judy Fischer (Colts Neck High School, who has worked in the district for 14 years), Susan Guercio (Freehold High School, six years), Domenica Leuci (Freehold Township High School, five years), Rosaria LoPreto (Howell High School, 14 years), Mary Hischer, (Manalapan High School, 11 years), and Kathi Savacool, (Marlboro High School, five years).
“They were recognized by their peers in the building for contributing to the overall environment in a myriad of ways, based on how they deal with students they are responsible for, but also how they improve and contribute on a daily basis to the school community,” Sampson said. “They go above and beyond, all six of these women, and they were duly recognized for that.”
Additional business discussed at the meeting included the official retirement of Howell High School Principal Zina Duerbig, who has worked in the district for 21 years. Duerbig will retire on Jan. 1.
“I think you will still find her putting in her 15-hour days until then, if not more hours, and I will have an awful lot more to say before the final date,” Sampson said.
Duerbig was named the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association’s Visionary Principal of the Year in 2011.
Freehold High School Assistant Principal John Schollenberger will also retire on Jan. 1. He has worked in the district for nine years. — Jeremy Grossman