SAYREVILLE – After nearly three decades at Sayreville War Memorial High School (SWMHS), a language arts teacher is retiring from the Sayreville School District.
George Vanderbeek will retire effective July 1. The Board of Education honored his retirement at a meeting on May 1.
“We are going to lose an incredibly valued, longtime and very beloved staff member this year,” Superintendent of Schools Richard Labbe said.
According to Labbe, Vanderbeek has taught in the Sayreville School District for 28 years.
“For the past 32 years, George has shared his passion for English with hundreds of students,” Labbe said. “For the past several years, he has been shaping the lives of our seniors at SWMHS and preparing for the rigors of higher education. He has been an integral component of our dual enrollment agreement with the Middlesex County College and has helped our students to earn their first three college credits in his English 12 honors class.
“Some of you may know that George and his wife Susan are also passionate about wine and that George is currently penning a book about Long Island wineries. His retirement plans surely include pursuing his passion for the grape. We wish George a long and healthy retirement and thank him incredibly for his extraordinary work with the children of Sayreville,” he said.
The superintendent also read an email sent to him from Sayreville Middle School Social Studies teacher and former Sayreville student Kevin Bloom regarding Vanderbeek’s retirement.
“I just saw the news in the board agenda for next week,” Bloom wrote in his email. “Congratulations George on your retirement. It was well deserved indeed. I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to say thanks for being my teacher back in 2000 to 2002. Your teaching style and personality had a most profound impact on me and on my eventual development as a teacher.
“I do not think I ever told you this, George,” he wrote. “It is a debt I can never repay you. You made a difference in me and I know many more people would echo my sentiments. And you did it without pomp and without circumstance as you were always the consummate professional. The students of Sayreville will forever now be at a disadvantage of not receiving instruction from you.”
“I think that Mr. Bloom very eloquently articulated what it meant to be a student in Mr. Vanderbeek’s class and what it means for all of us to lose an incredibly dedicated educator like Mr. Vanderbeek,” Labbe said. “So we thank him for his outstanding service and for all that he’s done for every student in this district that had the privilege of working with him.”
Board member John Walsh, who had also been a student of Vanderbeek’s, shared his experiences with Vanderbeek as well.
“I think I was in Mr. Vanderbeek’s first class here at Sayreville in either 1992 or 1993 and he was a consummate professional,” Walsh said. “We talked [Bruce] Springsteen a lot. And then I got the chance again to work with him when I worked [at SWMHS]. He was absolutely a great guy and a great professional. We’ll miss him.”
Further praise of Vanderbeek was made by board member Lucy Bloom, also a former SWMHS teacher and Kevin Bloom’s mother.
“George was here when I started and George was here when I left,” Bloom said. “And George is still here and I’ve been gone for six years. He is the sweetest, most kind man you ever want to meet. Always the gentleman and I echo my son’s sentiments. I think the kids who will not have the chance to have him are going to be losing out because he was such a great man.”
Board President Kevin Ciak had additional praise for Vanderbeek.
“He represents to me so many of the educators, the professionals and the support staff [who] we have in this district,” Ciak said. “You look at 70 to 80 percent of the people who just come to work every single day, quietly go about their job and don’t really make the headlines, don’t really make the limelight, but are making such a tremendous difference every single day in whatever capacity they’re doing. Whether it’s a teacher, an administrative assistant, a nurse, a custodian, a maintenance worker, that’s what George is all about.
“He’s an individual who just comes to school every single day to teach, to impact students’ lives, to not have the fanfare, to not have the focus and just to give back,” he continued. “And every time you see him, he always has a kind word for you, he always asks how your family is doing, and just a tremendous individual and a tremendous loss for our district. But I wish him well on a retirement that is absolutely very well deserved.”