Elementary School Principal Stepping Down In Chester

CHESTER, NJ — A Chester elementary school will be getting a new principal in the upcoming school year.

Melissa Fair-Esposito, the current principal at Dickerson Elementary School, announced her official retirement at the Jan. 23 school board of education meeting.

According to the official notice accepted by the board, Fair-Esposito will be leaving the school district effective Aug. 1, 2024.

Fair-Esposito has been working at Dickerson Elementary School for the past 22 years. Prior to that, she served as a principal within the Jefferson Township School District.

She obtained her bachelor of science degree from Northwest Missouri State University and her master’s degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Dickerson Elementary School, located at 250 Rte 24 # 1, in Chester, is a highly rated public school with 335 students in grades PK-2. The school’s minority student enrollment is 25 percent. The student-teacher ratio at Dickerson Elementary School is 11:1, which is higher than the district average.

Last year, the Chester School District also said goodbye to Michele Stanton, the former principal at the Bragg School.

Stanton, who spent over 30 years working for the school district, including 10 years as principal of Bragg School, served as a teacher, math coach, dean of students, supervisor of instruction and principal.

She was ultimately replaced by Michael DeLoreto in April 2023.