called
Frank Kasyan
called ‘educational leader’ by peers
BY TARA PETERSEN
Staff Writer
MONROE — A months-long search by the Board of Education has resulted in the appointment of Frank Kasyan as principal of Monroe Township High School.
Kasyan replaces James Misek, who recently accepted a position as principal of the Montgomery Township high school.
"We had close to 40 applicants," Board of Education President Joseph Homoki said.
A committee that interviewed about eight applicants recommended two finalists to the board, Homoki said last week. The committee consisted of parents, teachers, citizens and board members, he said.
Finally, the board conducted a site visit to Kasyan’s district in Brick Township to hear what co-workers and students had to say.
"He’s the best principal we’ve had in a long time," said Barbara Kiseli, student services secretary at Veterans Memorial Middle School, Brick, where Kasyan has been serving as principal. "He’s so fair to all the staff. He listens. He’s the best."
"He makes you want to be a better person," said Susan Suozzo, Veterans Memorial guidance counselor. "He’s extraordinarily hardworking and would never ask of anyone what he wouldn’t do himself."
"It confirmed what we heard from the committee," Homoki said. "He was well-liked and truly an educational leader."
Homoki said Kasyan stood out among the other candidates, many of whom were well qualified.
"We not only saw a person who demonstrated administrative leadership, but also was a very strong educational leader," Homoki said of Kasyan. "He is very up on the latest trends and well-founded in research."
Officials said that Kasyan (pronounced kay-shun) has 29 years’ experience in Brick Township, 26 of which were at one of the district’s two high schools. He started out teaching history, then became its departmental chair before finally becoming the school’s vice principal.
Kasyan was principal of Veterans Memorial Middle School the last three years, Homoki said.
The board unanimously appointed Kasyan at its Sept. 10 meeting at an annual salary of $116,000. He is expected to start in November, unless he can get out of his current contract at Brick earlier.
"People said [at the site visit] that they will miss him," board vice president Kathy Kolupanowich said. "One of the first things we heard is that he thinks out of the box."
Kasyan has a 19-year-old son, David, and another son, Ryan, who is a junior at Point Pleasant borough, where the family resides.
Kasyan said that he was given the task of converting Veterans Memorial from a junior high-oriented program to a more modernized middle school.
"There was no common planning time, and no teaming when I first began," he said.
Kasyan also mentioned that the Brick school experienced a dramatic drop in the student suspension rate during his tenure as principal. According to school officials, the suspension rate decreased from 24.2 percent in the 1997-1998 school year to 1.0 percent in 2001-2002.
Kasyan attributed the progress to the character education programs, which he said encourages the internalization of behavior.
"Adolescents have indiscretions all the time, but they have to think about what they’ve done before they act," he said. "We used the STAR program – Stop, Think, Act, Reflect."
Kasyan said the middle school no longer uses bells to indicate class changeovers, and no longer uses the intercom system during classes.
"There is no interruption to the learning pro-cess. Classical music plays all day long," he said.
Kasyan said he was ready to leave the position because the transformation had largely taken place.
"We were on a five-year plan, and I saw the evolution of change appear faster than anticipated."
Although proud of the changes in Brick, Kasyan does not assume to know what will work for Monroe at this point.
"I really believe you have to be here," he said. "I have to observe and learn the culture."
Kasyan said he was very impressed with the Monroe district because of the thorough interviewing process, the growth in enrollment, and the parents.
"They were so inclusive [in the interviewing]," he said. "There were teachers, students and parents throughout the process.
"You can see from this meeting how committed the parents are, too," he added. "A successful learning environment is much more easy to create when you have that."