Hillsdale School Eliminates Assistant Principal, Creates Two Positions

Hillsdale Schools are planning to institute a change in administrators this summer which district officials said will address their changing needs.

The assistant principal position at George G. White Middle School will be eliminated as of June 30 and two new jobs — dean of students at the middle school and a district supervisor of curriculum, instruction and assessment — will be created, according to Superintendent Rick Spirito.

"The board of education and I have talked a lot about what we can do in the district to address some of our changing needs, as well as the changes being implemented by the state," he said.

The board approved the changes during a meeting in April.

Currently, the middle school's assistant principal is a student disciplinarian, teacher evaluator and athletic director. The dean of students will focus on working with students, supervising students, disciplining students when appropriate and building a "character education program" next year.

"It takes away all those other pieces and it really focuses on students," Spirito said.

The supervisor of curriculum, instruction and assessment will help teachers adjust to the new common core standards. The candidate will also work at the regional curriculum office to help write the curriculum used at all four local Pascack Valley Regional districts and work with teachers in Hillsdale to implement the new curriculum.

The supervisor will also be responsible for teacher evaluations at the middle school and will look at districtwide testing data to identify areas that need to be improved.

The Hillsdale Board of Education is expected to appoint a dean of students at their next meeting on June 10. They will also be interviewing two finalists for the supervisor of curriculum, instruction and assessment position and may appoint a candidate that night as well. The supervisor is scheduled to start July 1, while the dean of students will start in September after a transition period over the summer.

"I'm excited about the change," Spirito said. "I think the two new positions are going to be very positive additions to the entire district."

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