Retiring JTHS Teacher Watched Her 'Baby' Grow Up

Were it not for Debbie Latronica, Jefferson Township High School may not have a child development program. The soon-to-be retired teacher came to Jefferson after a five-year stint in the Hopatcong school district, then a few years teaching in New York state.

Latronica, a 24-year veteran of the district, wrote the curriculum for the child development class after teaching culinary arts and sewing at the high school for a few years.

“We just had our 19^th preschool graduation this year,” Latronica said. “The program has really evolved over the years.”

The program started with just six high schoolers and six preschoolers. Within a few years, Latronica said, it advanced to having a total of 36 youngsters, and about 155 high school kids spread out over six class periods throughout the day. The little ones come in for 2.5 hours three days a week. They are there for three months in the fall, and then three months in the spring. Parents pay $220 for the year. Children must meet three criteria: they must live in Jefferson, be toilet trained and be at least three years old.

The program now has an advanced section, where the high school students can learn more about learning disabilities, learning centers and crisis nurseries. The students learn how to write a resume, perform a job search, interview well and find a job in day care.

“It’s been so great to see the program grow over the years,” Latronica said. “One of the best things is when students I have in high school bring their little ones in to the preschool program. I even had a girl I taught in Hopatcong who had moved to Jefferson bring her child into the program.”

After 24 years, Latronica has seen lots of changes, both in the high school students and the little ones they care for.

“The pace has gotten much faster for the high school kids over the years,” she said. “The emphasis is so much on technology now, even when teaching little ones. I remind the students that they have to embrace it. They don’t have a choice.

“The little guys really know the computer well too at this age,” she continued. “But they still need to know the basics of writing their names, listening to directions and becoming socialized.”

One of the more recent additions to the class is called “Baby Think It Over.” Students take home a computerized baby for a weekend. The child does all the normal “stuff” an infant would do, and the student has to take care of the baby’s needs.

“The way my students have reacted to that experience has been truly enlightening,” Latronica said.

Just because she’s retiring, Latronica isn’t necessarily slowing down. She and her entire family will be moving to South Carolina. That includes her husband, her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren and her brother-in-law, sister-in-law and nieces. She wants to work more on quilting, gardening, cooking and canning. She also hopes to adjunct teach at the local college, and plans to do a great deal of boating. But she’ll still be thinking about Jefferson.

“I will really miss the great people I’ve worked with over the past 24 years, and my students,” she said. “They present such wonderful lessons to these little guys. They have such creativity. And I’ll really miss the response from the little ones.”