New Principal Wants to Teach Life Lessons

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When schools open for the new year next week, Meadowbrook School in Hillsdale will have new Principal Christopher Bell running the show.

Bell comes to Hillsdale from Stillwater Township, where he was the assistant principal of the district's single pre-K to sixth grade school. Before that, Bell taught second grade in Kinnelon for five years and did his student teaching in Wyckoff. He holds a degree in history from William Paterson University and a masters's degree in education leadership from Seton Hall. Bell is also the chief of the Pompton Plains Fire Department.

Bell said he knew from an early age that he was interested in education. His mother taught in elementary schools for 30 years and his father taught in high schools for 40 years. He said he felt "very fortunate" to have the new position at Meadowbrook.

"I inherited a great situation here," Bell said. "My biggest challenge is not just maintaining the great, but to enhance what takes place every day."

Bell said he considers safety to be a top priority, along with challenging students and establishing a relationship with them. He will eat lunch with the students every day with that goal in mind.

"It's about creating a strong connection and rapport with the students," Bell said. "They need to know that they can come and talk to me."

By keeping a bond with the students, Bell hopes to help them grow academically, as well as socially.

"We really stress the whole child," Bell said. "A big portion of that is teaching life lessons — tolerance, patience, understanding. It's important for the students to be academically challenged, but also that they can feel comfortable handling situations in life that will be brought to them."

With the school's staff, Bell wants to have a give-and-take relationship and will be open to their ideas. He wants the staff to feel he is supporting them and hopes they will treat him that way too, he said.

Bell also said he also intends to continue his own education and hopes others at the school will follow his example.

"If they see you actively developing professionaly, they're going to follow suit," Bell said.

So far, the teachers, parents and students Bell has met have been "very welcoming." If Bell ever does need any guidance, the school's former principal, Richard Spirito, is nearby as the district's new superintendent.

"I've landed in a great place," Bell said.

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