WESTWOOD REGIONAL DISTRICT—Shelley LaForgia, principal at Westwood Regional Middle School, is passing that baton to an interim principal as she moves to a new role: director of personnel for the Westwood Regional School District, which serves families in Westwood and the Township of Washington.
At the Aug. 25 district board meeting, members approved LaForgia for her new role, a change she told the community the next day in an e-mail was bittersweet. She said starting Monday, Aug. 29, “Mr. [Daniel] DiGuglielmo (‘Mr. D.’) will begin with me as our interim principal. He and I will work closely together during this transition and I remain a committed stakeholder in the success of the middle school, and the entire district. I am happy to serve as a resource, and I am only a phone call and an office away.”
LaForgia was budgeted $164,592 in her new salary, plus $2,500 in longevity; DiGuglielmo was to be paid $550 per diem, according to the meeting agenda.
Also Aug. 25, LaForgia wrote families to say that due to a staff departure and lack of applicants for the vacancy, there would be no theater class at the middle school this year. In its place is Lifetime Fitness Education.
On her new gig at the central office, LaForgia said, “For the past 11 years I have been a building administrator in our district. I was an assistant principal at the high school for five years and have had the honor of serving as the middle school principal for the last six. I have loved working closely with the students, parents, staff, and administrative team and sharing experiences with them.”
She said, “During my tenure at the middle school, we have seen a sixth and seventh grade middle school become completely transformed and make great strides toward a true sixth through eighth grade middle school. I am proud of all that we have accomplished, especially with the added challenge of the pandemic. There remains work to be done, but I am confident that the staff and administration will continue our trajectory forward.”
In 2019, LaForgia and the rest of the district administration were looking forward to the completion of the overhaul and expansion of the middle school in 2020. The work — and grand opening — were sideswiped by the pandemic, which saw many students introduced to middle school from behind computer screens at home.
In anticipation of the new school year, the sixth grade recently had orientation; the seventh- and eighth-grades were brought in to set up their lockers. Student pictures are scheduled for Sept. 12. Back to school night is Sept. 29.
No theater class
Regarding the change in course offerings, LaForgia said, “We are working hard to finalize our summer planning for the upcoming school year. Unfortunately, our Theater teacher resigned, and we are unable to secure a replacement. Sadly, we have reposted the position without any applicants, so we will not be able to offer Theater this year.”
She said, “As a replacement for this course, we are able to offer Lifetime Fitness Education. This course emphasizes acquiring knowledge and skills regarding lifetime physical fitness; topics will include nutrition, stress management, and consumer issues and students will develop and implement a personal fitness plan.”
LaForgia said, “Lifetime Fitness Education will replace Theater on schedules next week. For those students in Theater who do not want to take this course, please reach out to your guidance counselor to explore the possibility of an alternative. If your student is interested in this course in lieu of another encore course, please reach out to your counselor, and we will do our best to fit it in their schedule.”
She said, “Due to the timing of this change, we may not be able to accommodate every request, as that would require building the entire schedule from scratch. We will do our best to include everyone we can. Counselors will be returning to the building on Monday.”
Encore classes are overviews
LaForgia also said she understood why there’s “some confusion as to the way our encore classes are offered.”
She explained, “In middle schools, we offer exploratory classes; they are not intended to provide great depth. Philosophically, middle schools encourage students to ‘explore’ courses they would otherwise not choose, to help them narrow their interests in the future. Very often, students are pleasantly surprised by the coursework they engage in, and if they are not, it is fortunate that it is only a quarter in length.”
She said, “Previously, a majority of our exploratory courses ran for a half year and alternated days, therefore resulting in a quarter of instruction. With the rotating drop schedule, it’s not possible to do this, so the classes have to run each quarter. They both work out to be the same duration overall; class lengths have not been changed.”
LaForgia said, “We try to offer a wide range of courses for our students, to ensure that students of all ability levels can find something that appeals to them and that they will find success with. We wish we could offer Theater this year, but hope this change will appeal to many of our students.”
Additional hires
In recent months the district also announced a new director of Elementary Education, Dr. Courtney Carmichael, previously supervisor of curriculum and instruction for the Closter Public Schools; a new director of secondary education, Bronwen Calderon, formerly supervisor of mathematics for the Woodland Park School District; and a new director of technology, Andrew Kramar, who arrived from the Morris Plains School District, where he was director of IT and a principal.
The district also welcomes Gabrielle LoBue as the new dance teacher at the middle school. LoBue has a Bachelor of Science in dance education from Hofstra University.
Reunification training complete
Superintendent Jill Mortimer posted on Aug. 23 that members of the district and local police departments participated in reunification training the day before. (Reunification, say security experts, refers to one of the most challenging elements to navigate in an emergency: what happens after the action has calmed down.)
“Retired police officer and hostage negotiator Stacy Avila and educator Michael Peck from the I Love You Guys Foundation ran the daylong workshop for the staff,” Mortimer said.
She added Avila was “primary negotiator at Platte Canyon High School hostage taking and shooting on Sept. 27, 2006. Our team is now better prepared to handle an emergency school evacuation and subsequent reunification with parents/guardians.”
Mortimer also shared that the district is in receipt of its new school bus.