Lakehurst BOE Tie Up Loose Ends at Final School Year Meeting

At the final meeting of the school year for the Lakehurst Board of Education last week, members the board thanked interim superintendent Theresa Hamilton, who has now finished her term.

“The two years that I have worked with you has been a strong learning experience," said Carmen Davis, principal of Lakehurst Elementary School. "You introduced me to new perspectives and you helped me to feel empowered that I am becoming more and more like the kind of leader that you would want working for you.”

The interim superintendent also tearfully thanked the board and said that she had a wonderful experience at Lakehurst Elementary over the last two years.

Hamilton then announced that the final New Jersey Department of Education Report was completed, and the state had designated Lakehurst as a “high performing” district based on the following scores: Instruction and Program- 89 percent, Fiscal Management – 90 percent, Operations – 96 percent, Personnel – 88 percent and Governance – 89 percent.  

The district will be certified as providing a thorough and efficient system of education for a period of three years, she said.

Vice president Kevin Oliver said that many departments contributed to achieve those scores and he thanked Hamilton the most for her hard work and diligence.

Hamilton then congratulated Kathy Hughes, who was voted the school's 2011-12 Teacher of the Year by a committee of staff and administrators at Lakehurst.

Board president Joann Septor announced that Joseph Leo, member of the Board, has stepped down due to scheduling conflicts.

Davis discussed the school's “Second Cup of Coffee."

“The idea [behind the program] is to bring a tighter partnership between the school and the parents by introducing meaningful topics to the parents. And to let the parents know what we are celebrating at the school, and what we are finding to be a challenge,” she said.

Davis also spoke about the “Wings and Things” program for eighth grade boys and the “Formal Tea” program for the eighth grade girls that happened earlier this month.  It is a rite of passage before high school and included various motivational and education speakers she said.

Custodians, nurses and staff at the school were also honored.

“Hard work is not so hard when you take a breath and stop and appreciate each other,” Davis added.

Five staff members ran a marathon relay to raise money for the school’s library by selling T-shirts and receiving online pledges. Three of the runners, Rebekah Triolo, Shana Costa and Abbey Moyse presented a $550 check to the board.

The next meeting will be held on June 21.  More information is available by calling the board at 732-657-5751.