Nutley Superintendent Nominated For ‘Lifechanger Of Year’ Award

NUTLEY, NJ — Nutley Public Schools Superintendent Julie Glazer has been nominated for the 2021-2022 National LifeChanger of the Year award.

Sponsored by the National Life Group Foundation, the award recognizes and rewards K-12 educators and school employees across the nation who are making a difference in the lives of their students by “exemplifying excellence, positive influence and leadership.”

According to organizers with LifeChanger of the Year, Glazer was nominated anonymously for the award. In particular, her work leading and guiding the district through the coronavirus pandemic earned a round of applause.

“[Glazer] and her team collaborated with the Strategic Plan committees, as well as the Board of Education committees (including the Long Range Facilities committee), and was able to identify priorities and direct resources in those areas to remove barriers,” LifeChanger of the Year stated.

Organizers said that under Glazer's leadership, the following achievements were reached:

• Each student and district family has been fed since March 2020
• Each child had access to a device and Internet
• Most of the district instructional spaces have air conditioning
• Air cleaners with HEPA filters have been added to each instructional space, exhaust fans have been replaced, and electrical systems have been upgraded
• The Nutley High School Library/Media space was refurbished
• The 1:1 Chromebook Initiative was expanded to benefit learners in grades 4-12
• All teacher laptops were replaced with MacBook Airs
• All paraprofessional and office devices were upgraded
• The district moved to centralized printing

Additionally, a social-emotional curriculum and resources were added across all grade levels, and more counselors and mental health programming were added, as well as an elementary literacy coach and additional strategies teachers. The district expanded K-8 summer programming, provided extended strategies and reading intervention after school and in the evenings, and invested in outdoor classroom space, organizers said.

“Dr. Glazer has modeled that Nutley is stronger together, and together, we all grow,” her anonymous nominator wrote.

Each school year, LifeChanger of the Year receives hundreds of nominations from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Eighteen individual LifeChanger of the Year awards will be given during the 2021-2022 school year.

Along with other prizes, the grand prize winner will earn $10,000 to be shared with their school/district.

Winners are chosen by a selection committee comprised of former winners and education professionals, and will be announced in early 2022. Nominees must be K-12 teachers or school district employees. Learn more here.

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