Adult School Board's New Co-Presidents

Introducing The Adult School Board's New Co-Presidents  

Maplewood, NJ—This past spring, The South Orange-Maplewood Adult School's Board of Trustees elected both Rhonda Johnson and Carol Petrallia to the position of Co-President. They will be taking over for the previous President, Roy Eismann, who served diligently for the last three years.

Carol Petrallia has been associated with the Adult School since the 1970s, when she began teaching GED and ESL courses in the Adult Basic Education Program before becoming its Administrator (1985 to 1995). As a Trustee of the Adult School, she serves as chairperson of the Don Hamingson Literary Showcase, a program that celebrates the memory of the former English teacher and Director of the Adult School by inviting a graduate of CHS who is a professional writer to share his or her work with current CHS students.

Carol taught English at CHS, participated in the National Endowment for the Humanities Poetry Grant, served as co-advisor to the CHS Student Council and was chairperson for the September 11th Memorial and the Hall of Fame Program. After her retirement from full-time teaching in 2006, Carol continued to volunteer with CHS in numerous ways, including organizing and preserving the CHS archive collection located in the school library. This past spring, Carol was honored by the Adult School with the 2012 Gus and Thelma Sickles Lifetime Learning Award in recognition of Carol’s dedication to education and lifelong learning. 

Rhonda Johnson joined the Adult School Board of Trustees in 2007 and has been an active and enthusiastic member ever since. A particular fan of the Eva Samo Lecture Series and College for a Day, she is dedicated to lifelong learning and to finding new ways to keep Adult School programs relevant and accessible to busy families like hers.

Rhonda is trained as an art therapist and looks forward to renewing her practice in the near future. In the meantime, volunteering with the PTA and other community organizations keeps her connected to what’s going on in Maplewood and South Orange and puts to use the planning and organizational skills she developed in a brief career in corporate marketing. During down time she can be found with her nose in a book, doodling in a sketch journal or knitting. A native Chicagoan, she substitutes walks in the Reservation for walking along the shore of Lake Michigan. Rhonda lives in Maplewood with husband, Joe. Their children, Matthew and Katherine, have attended the Summer Program many times and loved it.  Rhonda predicts that her co-presidency with Carol Petrallia will be a productive and fun highlight of her varied and stimulating career in community service.

In the spring of 2013, The South Orange-Maplewood Adult School will celebrate 80 years! We are working as hard as ever to provide all the citizens of Maplewood, South Orange and beyond with opportunities for richer living through a comprehensive and exciting roster of classes and lectures. Our Fall 2012 catalog has been delivered to every home in Maplewood and South Orange and to all the local libraries. You can also visit our website at www.somadultschool.org to find your perfect class.