New Principal At Eisenhower Intermediate School Appointed

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A new principal was appointed to lead Eisenhower Intermediate School at the most recent Bridgewater-Raritan Board of Education meeting.

Dr. Laura Bassett, who presently holds the position of the Supervisor of Arts Education for K-12 in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, was appointed on Tuesday night to become the new principal.

Bassett will replace Joe Diskin, who will retire after 22 years on Jan. 31, 2023. Bassett will then begin her new role in the school district on Feb. 1, 2023.

Under Bassett's tenure with the district’s Fine & Performing Arts program since July 2017, the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Marching Band earned a state championship while the choral program from Grades 5 through high school contains a total of 1,178 students.

Bassett previously worked in the Bayonne Public School District from 2008 through 2017 where she served as that school district’s Supervisor of Academies & Special Programs.

Bassett filled a vacancy this year for Bridgewater-Raritan when she served as the Interim Principal at the John F. Kennedy Primary School from late August into early September. She assisted in preparations for the 2022-2023 school year before Aldo Russo began his tenure as the school’s principal.

She is involved with numerous professional organizations, including a Trustee for the Education Foundation of Bridgewater-Raritan and a member of the New Jersey Principal and Supervisors Association and the National Association of Music Educators, while she is the Secretary for the New Jersey Music Administrators Association.

Bassett earned her Educational Doctorate in K-12 Educational Leadership from Gwynedd Mercy University in Pennsylvania and a Master of Arts in Urban Education Specialization in K-12 Administration from New Jersey City University and a Master of Music in Music Education from Boston University. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.