David Aderhold was officially — and enthusiastically — appointed to the position of superintendent at the April 30 Board of Education meeting. Not only did Aderhold receive praise from each board member, but the unusually large audience gave Aderhold a round of applause as well.
“I am honored and thank the Board for its overwhelming support,” said Aderhold. “I also would like to thank Victoria Kniewel for her mentorship.
“I also want to thank my wife Tara and my four children for their support, and Russ Lazovick [former assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in WW-P who resigned in 2011 to become superintendent in Nutley] for coming back to support me.”
Aderhold came to the WW-P district four years ago from New Brunswick, where he was principal of the New Brunswick High School. He was hired as the assistant superintendent of pupil services and planning. In November, 2011, he was promoted to deputy superintendent, a position that was created specifically for him.
“I like to think that the promotion was an opportunity to recognize the extra work I had done. While assistant superintendent, I also filled in as the principal at High School South; filled in as the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction; helped out, with others, to fill in for Alicia Boyko as the head of human resources, and also filled in as the head of the guidance department until Lee McDonald was hired. So I think my promotion to deputy superintendent was a show of support to me by the Board, and perhaps to transition me to superintendent if Victoria decided to leave.”
Aderhold said that the district will not be hiring another deputy superintendent. “Instead, we will be posting a position for an assistant superintendent for pupil services and planning,” he said. “We are shifting around several supervisory administrative positions to create some more supervisors to help with the new teacher evaluation requirements.
“That is why Penny Fisher, who is currently the supervisor of the K-5 curriculum and instruction, will become the supervisor of K-5 language arts and ESL, because her forte is language arts. We have moved two teacher resource specialists into supervisory positions. In addition, we will be adding one new supervisory position, to oversee fine and performing arts, grades K-12. There has never been a central administrative oversight position for the elective-based courses; usually they were monitored building to building. We are adding this position. In addition, we are seeking a supervisor for world languages, since that position is currently vacant.”
Aderhold noted that the new state-imposed teacher evaluation system is one of the biggest challenges he will face as the new superintendent.
“Between now and September, we need to develop a new teacher evaluation model, which reflects the fundamental shift in how teacher evaluations are conducted. In addition we need to fill the principal position at Grover Middle School as well.”
Other immediate challenges include the Village School expansion, as well as school security issues. “In my opinion, this is still an immediate concern. We will be evaluating the pilot program at Village and Millstone, considering outside contractors, working with the district architect to evaluate the safety of the buildings, and focus on technology security. I will stay involved in this issue in a hands-on capacity. School security is one of my passions.”
“One of my personal challenges as superintendent is to balance my desire to stay involved with the day-to-day operations with guiding the global mission and vision of the district. Because of Victoria’s leadership style, as deputy I was involved in all of the policy decisions, and also was responsible for the day-to-day operations, which will be a help in my new role. In the next four to six months, I plan on meeting with all of the various stakeholders and district staff, and listen to their suggestions and recommendations. Having said that, I don’t see the need for a radical shift in our policies. I will be maintaining and building upon the structures that have already been put in place.”
Some issues that Aderhold foresees include the possible need for building expansion and future demographic projections, and ensuring that the district has the appropriate facilities to serve the students. “Some possible developments, including the Howard Hughes development, can be game changers, and we need to follow that,” he said.
Another issue is to continue to communicate the message that the district has “always held ourselves to high standards and expectations. There is a fear that, because the state has linked teacher evaluations to standardized test scores, in the future we will ‘teach to the test.’ We will not be asking the staff to do this. By continuing to focus on our curriculum, the 21st century competencies, and student growth, the tests will take care of themselves.”
Aderhold has been given a five-year contract, and his salary will be the maximum allowed by law: $175,000 plus a $2,500 high school stipend. A yearly merit component is included as well, which will be based on his annual evaluation.
