Somerset County district
offers exciting opportunity
James Misek says
Somerset County district
offers exciting opportunity
By tara petersen
Staff Writer
MONROE — Principal James Misek’s fourth year at Monroe Township High School will also be his last.
Misek’s resignation, effective Aug. 25, was accepted by the Board of Education last week.
"He was a great principal. I’m sorry to see him go," resident Barbara Doll said, noting that she had one child graduate this year, one still attending the high school and another who will attend in a few years.
Misek said he has accepted a job as the principal of Montgomery High School in Montgomery Township, Somerset County, for an annual salary of $125,000. At Monroe, he earned around $106,900.
"It’s a nice opportunity professionally. There are some exciting things going on there. It’s a real tough decision because there’s a lot of good things happening here, too," Misek said.
Misek came to Monroe in 1999 after four years as principal of Collingswood High School in Camden County. Prior to that, he spent 18 years as a mathematics teacher.
Board of Education Vice President Kathy Kolupanowich has a son who will be a freshman at Monroe this fall, along with two children in college.
"I’ve seen the high school pre-Mr. Misek. There’s been a big improvement in morale, school spirit and student participation," she said. "He worked well with the kids and made the kids feel they were a part of the decision-making."
Kolupanowich also said that Misek was involved in a parent advisory council where "a group of parents had a stake in changing the climate of the school. There were decisions that the council made that ultimately changed board policy."
Misek said the council was started as part of the Middle States Association of Secondary Schools accreditation process, which deals with strategic planning involving "planning by consensus."
"It has opened up articulation between the lower grades and the high school. [High school] math teachers are talking to math teachers at lower grades," Misek said.
He said that Montgomery schools have recently committed to the same program, and that because of his time at Monroe, he will be able to better function in his new role.
"I encourage people to look for new challenges," Misek said. "When I came here from Collingswood, my learning curve changed dramatically."
School board member Carol Haring, whose child will be a senior in the fall, said of Misek, "He asked you what you thought, and he really listened."
"If someone were to ask me, ‘Jim, what’s your style?’ I would say I am a person that listens to people," Misek said. "I sit down, roll up my sleeves and listen."
Superintendent of Schools Ralph Ferrie said the school district will post the open position and advertise throughout the state for a new principal. He said parents, students, teachers and other administrators will be involved in the selection process.
"I do not anticipate that this will be an easy or quick process," Ferrie said.
A replacement could arrive by "mid to late fall," he said.