Confirming what had been suspected for several weeks, the Board of Education on May 8 appointed Victoria Kniewel as its next superintendent of schools.##M:[more]## Kniewel will assume duties on September 1. Robert Loretan resigned from his position in January, saying he would serve until August 31.
The new superintendent’s contract is from September through June 2011. The first year’s salary is $179,”000. Her current salary as assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, is $143,”100. Kniewel was hired in 2004.
The appointment follows a three-month process wherein the school board considered only internal candidates. It did not make public the names of other applicants. The previous superintendent search, resulting in Loretan’s hiring in 2003, was an eight-month process and involved contracting an outside search company.
Her appointment to the position is the first time in recent years the WW-P school district has promoted a superintendent from within. Kniewel says in the past, districts may have avoided the practice, but it is a current trend for successful school districts. “Internal candidates have proved to be more successful,” she says. “Boards of education have a deeper understanding of leadership and what it takes. They believe the internal candidate can build on their success.”
Kniewel’s hiring follows a school board election in which voters, by an overwhelming margin, chose three incumbents to serve another term. Voters also approved the school budget for a fifth straight year.
“That’s a strong message for the importance of consistency, good leadership, and our community’s recognition of the way our school board works together as a team,” says Kniewel.
Kniewel takes the voters’ approval as a mandate to continue the trends established by her predecessor. Kniewel says Loretan has been an inspiration and a mentor. “I learned from him that collaboration and problem solving are very important,” says Kniewel, who lives in Canal Pointe in West Windsor. “He establishes relationships with teachers and administrators and works on that as a part of his position. Establishing those connections is my first goal.”
Other goals Kniewel mentions also involve following through on what has been established during Loretan’s administration. She says completing the projects funded by the $27 million referendum on time is the district’s top priority. The funding provides for an addition on High School South, new football fields and tracks at both high schools, and facilities improvements on other WW-P schools.
Kniewel says technology is a priority for the district in the coming years. “We have a brand new technology plan,” says Kniewel. “Some highlights are providing professional development for our teachers. Communication is a key in any successful classroom, so we are looking into how we can use technology to build on that.”
Kniewel says that a priority of the district is to integrate the use of Smartboards, a technology that fuses a computer screen projection with a white board. The district has about a dozen in use. Kniewel says more teachers will be trained to use Smartboards. “They will then have opportunities to apply for a grant to get one,” says Kniewel.
The new technology plan fails to address the fact that not all teachers have their own computer. In fact, at a recent school board meeting, Debra Baer, a teacher at Millstone River School, said hundreds of teachers lack their own computers, and often have to wait to use one of the shared terminals in the teacher’s workroom. “It’s catch as catch can,” said Baer.
Kniewel acknowledged that the technology plan, and the most recent budget, do not address the problem, but said the district considers giving all teachers access to computers a priority. She said Rick Cave, director of technology, is looking into solutions.
Kniewel takes over at a difficult time for school superintendents. The district, like all districts in the state, will face increased complications in creating its 2009 budget. While teacher and administrator salaries will continue to rise according to statute, the state has imposed caps on budget increases for schools and municipalities. The WW-P school district has maintained one of the lowest annual increases in the past five years. Its per-pupil cost has had an average annual increase of 3.9 percent over the past four years. The average per-pupil cost for 2007-’08 is $12,”457.
Kniewel says maintaining Loretan’s policies will help the district to work within the caps, and avoid cutting classes and extracurricular activities. “The superintendent has positioned us well,” she says. “What he has done very well is look into the future. He is a strategic thinker, and I will continue that. I will keep looking to the future, making small adjustments to prepare us for what lies ahead.”
Kniewel says a priority during the budget crunch is to keep WW-P classes and extracurricular activities from being cut. Kniewel, a former volleyball player and coach, is an ardent supporter of athletics and other after-school clubs. “The notion of co-curricular athletics is so important to the success of the district. So are the other extracurricular opportunities. They test students’ limits in terms of competition, and in terms of co-operation,” she says.
Born in Queens, New York, Kniewel’s family moved to New Jersey while she was still a baby. She was raised in Bayonne and Ringwood with her four younger brothers. Kniewel’s father worked in accounting and in the leadership faction of small manufacturing companies. Her mother started out with a career in banking, but eventually became a full-time mother. Kniewel is not married. She has one son, 25, who lives in Northern New Jersey. Her son played Division I volleyball at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
She also played volleyball in college. She started as an education major at Seton Hall University and finished her bachelor of arts degree in special education/elementary education from William Paterson University. She then earned a master’s degree in learning disabilities from Montclair State University and another in administration from Fordham University. She earned her doctorate degree in executive leadership at Fordham University.
“I worked for many years as a teacher of special education and gifted and talented students from the kindergarten through eighth grade level,” says Kniewel.
Kniewel then became principal of Orchard Elementary School in the Ridgewood Public School District. Prior to coming to WW-P, Kniewel worked as the assistant superintendent for curriculum in North Salem, New York. She has also held the position in the Ho-Ho-Kus Public School District.
