•  
     NJASA
     
     NEW JERSEY ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Press Release
    Contact Anne H. Gallagher
    NJASA Director of Communications
    609-599-2900, ext.126
    agallagher@njasa.net    
     
     
    NJASA Names Three Regional Superintendents of the Year
     
     Mark Murphy Judy Rattner   Joe Jones
     
    From Left, Northern Regional winner – Dr. Matthew J. Murphy, Chief Education Officer, Ramsey Public School District; Central Regional winner – Judith Ann Rattner, Chief Education Officer, Berkeley Heights School District; and Southern Regional winner – Joseph Jones, III, Chief Education Officer, Woodbury City Public Schools

    Trenton, New Jersey, October 6, 2015... The New Jersey Association of School Administrators (NJASA) has selected three regional 2016 Superintendents of the Year. They are: Northern Regional winner – Dr. Matthew J. Murphy, Chief Education Officer, Ramsey Public School District; Central Regional winner – Judith Ann Rattner, Chief Education Officer, Berkeley Heights School District;  and Southern Regional winner – Joseph Jones, III, Chief Education Officer, Woodbury City Public Schools.

    The three regional Superintendents of the Year will be introduced at the NJASA Executive Committee’s October 28th meeting at the Annual Fall Workshop in Atlantic City. The workshop is co-sponsored by NJASA, the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials (NJASBO) and the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA).

    NJASA Executive Director Dr. Richard G. Bozza said, "All three regional superintendents are dedicated, hard-working professionals who continually strive to improve the quality of education for all students. They are remarkable chief education officers with vision, imagination, and compassion for the students they serve."

    As chief education officer of the Ramsey Public School District – an educational system that has a well-earned reputation for excellence and has garnered recognition at the county, state and national level – Northern Regional winner Dr. Murphy has demonstrated his dynamic educational leadership ability. In 2014, the district embarked on a large scale revision of curriculum.  A new format for designing curriculum units was instituted to ensure that rigorous content; and the 21st Century competencies and performance assessments were an integral part of every unit of study. This process continued at the 2015 Summer Curriculum Writing Institute, where 50 teachers from all grade levels and all of the subject supervisors worked on the 21st Century unit redesign.

    A prolific writer and presenter, Murphy was honored by the New Jersey Principal and Supervisor’s Association as the 2006 Principal of the Year: Rewarding Visionary Leadership. Currently, he serves as the NJASA Bergen County Affiliate President; President of the Bergen County Association of School Administrators (BCASA); and is a National Governing Board Member to the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). Since 1999, Murphy has served as an adjunct professor at Ramapo College.   

    Central Regional winner Judith Ann Rattner’s deep-rooted, pedagogical beliefs are witness to the notable accomplishments of the Berkeley Heights School System. Under her tutelage, the district schools and programs have been recognized.  The district is focused on providing a foundation for its students to build upon that will help sustain them on life’s extraordinary journey.  She believes that “When all is said and done, success in life is measured by the lives you touch.”

    At the September NJASA Executive Committee meeting, she was appointed, by an unanimous motion, to serve as the Association’s 2015-2016 Interim President-Elect. An active NJASA member since 2000, Rattner represents New Jersey on the AASA National Governing Board.  She most recently co-facilitated the NJASA Vision 2020 Committee and chaired the NJASA Constitution Committee. NJASA conferred its prestigious Distinguished Service Award upon Rattner in 2013. She served as the President of NJASA in 2010-11; prior to her role as President, she served as the Association’s President-elect, Secretary and Treasurer. She has represented her county on several of the Association’s Committees including: Curriculum and Instruction, ad hoc Assessment, Legislative, and Technology.

    From his vantage point of 25 plus years experience as a school administrator, Southern Regional winner Joseph Jones, III, notes, the Woodbury City Public Schools are especially proud of their academic environment that focuses on personalizing the learning experience. Woodbury offers special, unique opportunities for students that provide for individual success: expanding the preschool programming to include children as young as three years of age; social/emotional programming in all grades K-8; formal college campus visitations for all students in 4th, 8th, and 10th grades; a nationally recognized college preparatory program for students not traditionally college-bound; competency-based education in the high school; expansive opportunity and expectation for students to take rigorous AP courses; and a new relationship with a local college where seniors take college courses on the college campus as part of their regular school day.

    Jones is President of the Great Schools of New Jersey and serves as the Gloucester County Representative to the NJASA Executive Committee. In addition, he is a Past-President of the Gloucester County Superintendents’ Roundtable and serves on the Roundtable’s Advisory Committee. He was recognized as the 2002 National Association of Secondary School Principals/MetLife New Jersey High School Principal of the Year.

    Each regional winner was judged on the following qualifications: 1) minimum of five years experience as a chief education officer; 2) record of service within their respective county affiliate and NJASA; and 3) a distinguished record as an educator.

    This is the eighth year of NJASA’s selection process to choose three regional - Southern, Central and Northern - Superintendents of the Year winners.

    The next step in the process for the three regional winners will be the selection of a New Jersey candidate to participate in the AASA National Superintendent of the Year Award. A committee of NJASA Past Presidents will select the 2016 New Jersey Superintendent of the Year. The program, established in 1988 and sponsored by Aramark, VALIC, and AASA, is open to any superintendent, chancellor or top leader of a school system in the United States who plans to continue in the profession.

    The selection qualifications for the State and National Superintendent of the Year include: meeting the needs of their students, demonstrated communication strength, a commitment to professional development and growth, and significant community involvement.  Additionally, at the state and regional levels, NJASA has an additional qualification that addresses service with the county affiliate and NJASA.

    AASA will announce the National Superintendent of the Year at its Annual Conference on Education in February 2016. The recipient of this prestigious honor will receive a $10,000 college scholarship for a student at the high school where the superintendent graduated.


    ###

    About NJASA:
     
    "One Vision - One Voice"
    The mission of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, the unifying professional association of school leaders, is to ensure a superior statewide system of education by influencing and effecting educational policy, regulations and legislation; and by maximizing the capacity and effectiveness of school leaders through professional development programs and support services.
    The Association is located at 920 West State Street, Trenton, New Jersey 08618-5328. For more information -- PH: 609.599.2900 / Fax: 609.599.9359 / website: www.njasa.net


    Education Brief Videos
    Due to the complexity of educational topics, NJASA has released a series of videos to help parents and taxpayers better understand the issues. Each video can be accessed on a special NJASA YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/TheNJASA or by clicking on the YouTube icon on the NJASA website, www.njasa.net.