When it comes to lending his expertise to students looking to map out their collegiate futures and beyond, Lee McDonald has a wealth of experience.
Not many guidance counselors or directors of guidance can say they have worked on the other end of college recruitment, but McDonald has prior experience working as an academic adviser at Rutgers University.
“It’s a huge advantage,” said McDonald, who began his role as the district’s newest director of guidance on December 1. “You name it, I did it in terms of scheduling classes for students with all different types of majors, working with students, and picking careers.”
Even further, McDonald served as the liaison to the admissions department as an academic adviser. As part of those responsibilities, he would help evaluate at-risk students who were being admitted to the university. Because of his close working relationship with the admissions staff, he gained insight to their processes and the factors they considered when making their decisions.
“It’s been a huge plus along the way,” said McDonald. “Every job I’ve had coming into WW-P has brought different experiences.” But working specifically in higher education allowed him to work with a very diverse population — which also helps him as he prepares to enter WW-P’s diverse student population.
McDonald grew up in Fairfax County in Virginia. His mother was an elementary school teacher, and his father was a lawyer. He came to New Jersey to attend Rutgers, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in history and journalism. He also earned his master’s in education and counseling psychology from Rutgers. He and his wife, Adrienne, an elementary school teacher in Franklin Township, have two pre-school children.
He began his career in advertising but moved to Rutgers, where he served as academic adviser before moving to the North Brunswick school district, where he was a counselor. From there he became the current supervisor of guidance at Manalapan High School in the Freehold district.
WW-P officials hired McDonald at the board’s November 9 meeting. He will earn $111,519 through June 30, 2011. McDonald takes over for Rick Charwin, who was hired by the board over the summer, but left shortly after to pursue another job opportunity.
McDonald said he was attracted to WW-P because of its reputation. “It’s a really good opportunity for me,” he said. “I’m looking forward to taking what they currently have and hopefully making improvements and contributing my professional background to better the school district.”
He said he is looking forward to jumping right in at WW-P. “A lot of change is going on right now in the state of New Jersey,” he said. “Testing is a big component of that. We’re heading into the testing season right when I get there. My first priority is making sure the district has a plan in place and that we’re quick to make sure all the testing moves smoothly.”
