Interim administrators of Beach Haven School attending to tasks ‘that were started but not completed’

Linda Downing and Richard Starodub, both former administrators in the New Jersey education system who are temporarily leading the Beach Haven School after the board approved the decision to have Superintendent EvaMarie Raleigh released early from her contract, attended their first regular board meeting at the school Thursday, Oct. 22.

A member of the public, who noted “you can just feel a difference in energy at the meeting tonight,” thanked the board for changing “the direction of the school administration.”

Photo via NJ News 12
The temporary administrators are getting
to know the school students and staff.

“All of the (members of the Beach Haven) board of education have worked or are working in an educational field, and I know you understand what it’s like to work with contentious administration,” said Marcia Pietrowski, obviously referring to the controversy surrounding Raleigh. “Deception and self-serving intentions is not the route this educational community was established. Beach Haven School was founded on dedication, determination and caring, and it will continue to grow with your leadership.”

Arriving just a month after the start of the new school year, Downing and Starodub have been tasked with various routine procedures as well as a few important issues raised by the board and staff.

“When you come into a new situation like this, there are things that are not finished yet, that were started but not completed,” said Downing. “This month is a time to get to know the kids, get to know the routines of the school, get to know the teachers and work with them. We’re just trying to maintain the school.”

As interim administrators, Starodub noted, he and Downing are first and foremost concerned about the safety and well-being of the students and staff. Alongside the Beach Haven Police Department, “who have been extremely cooperative,” he said they have adjusted the school’s emergency plans and made sure the drills are up to date.

“One has to realize that, in this changing world, we have to stay very attentive to security and work hand-in-hand with the police, which we have been doing and will continue to do. The support has been overwhelming,” Starodub said, noting the administration is looking into the issue surrounding the school’s security cameras.

Downing and Starodub are also attempting to implement more “age-appropriate” health instruction since the school’s fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students are currently receiving the same health lessons.

“There’s a big difference between grade levels when it comes to health,” said Downing, who noted there are scheduling conflicts to consider.

The new administrators are also looking to create a second-grade class since the second- and third-grade students are currently in one combined class. Although this is not unusual considering the school’s small enrollment, Starodub said, it would be best to have separate curriculums better geared toward each of the grade levels.

“Third (grade) is a (standardized) testing grade; the curriculum is a little harder,” Downing stated. “Second-graders are learning to read; third-graders are reading to learn.”

Student report cards, which were changed during Raleigh’s tenure, have also been reverted to the standard numeric and letter grade reports used for many years.

“It’s important that the staff is comfortable with it, and also, most importantly, most importantly,” Starodub stressed, “that the report card is accepted by the parents because it is a report to the parents.”

He noted the reports use the same breakdown as the Southern Regional High School District, where the Beach Haven School students will go for grades seven through 12.

Also during the meeting, Starodub noted there was one incident of vandalism and one incident of non-student violence during the 2014-15 school year.

The board also invoked the doctrine of necessity to create a negotiations committee for staff salary increases. Carol Labin, a former member of the Beach Haven Education Association and the New Jersey Education Association, as well as Kathy Kelly, who is related to a member of the NJEA, were appointed to the committee since the other three board members are currently members of the NJEA.

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.