Superintendent Healy: The Buck Stops Here

Sitting on a desk scattered with school documents, statistics and new initiatives is a small but famous brown sign with gold letters scripted onto it.

"'The Buck Stops Here,' and I'm well aware of it," said Superintendent David Healy, while pointing to a sign identical to the one that sat on former President Harry Truman's desk in the Oval Office.

"I don't pass the buck. I know that I am ultimately responsible for all that goes well and all that goes wrong," said Healy, who started with the Matawan Aberdeen Regional School district in March after serving as the Assistant Superintendent of Operations and Personnel in Middletown.

"I enjoy the challenges. I am excited about the changes I can enact with my team here," he said.

Healy went to high school in Westfield in Union County, and then went to Monmouth College (now Monmouth University) to study psychology on a swimming scholarship. In addition to swimming, Healy was also on the Water Polo and Track teams.

It wasn't until about half way through his undergraduate years that Healy realized that he wanted to be a teacher. After graduating Monmouth in 1984, he got his teaching degree from Kean University and eventually earned a masters in Administrative Supervision in addition to an endorsement in Human Resources Training and Development in graduate school at Seton Hall University.

Healy's first full time teaching job was with the NJ Department of Corrections at the Bordentown Correctional Facility, which he started while in graduate school at Seton Hall.

"It was challenging, but I always refer to that experience as rapid and unparalleled. In terms of experiences, I experienced more things in a year as a teacher there than most teachers would experience in a career," Healy said.

He credits the experience of teaching juveniles in the Department of Corrections (under the Whitman Administration, they separated juvenile facilities from the Department of Corrections into the Juvenile Justice Commission) for giving him a solid understanding of classroom management, consistent practices, routines and expectations and how to differentiate lesson plans for various learning styles.

After over nine years there, he left in 2002 as Teacher of the Year for the State of New Jersey and Office of Education Employee of the Year for the Juvenile Justice Commission.

"That was a great honor and one that I worked very hard for," Healy said. He felt, however, that he was ready to move into an administrative position.

"I knew that in teaching that there was a certain level of change that I could enact, but as a teacher I was limited to the types of change I could make, in regards to large programatic and institutional type changes. And I felt those types of changes were important and necessary," he said. "I wanted to really be responsible for not only make a classroom change, but an institutional change."

Healy became an assistant principal and then a principal for the Monmouth Ocean Education Services Commission. Soon after, in 2005, he became an assistant principal at Matawan Regional High School, and then went to Middletown as assistant principal for Middletown High School North. While in Middletown, the largest district in the county, he became the Assistant Superintendent of Operations and Personnel.

"Middletown is a complex district in terms of size and culture," he said. "Middletown has certainly prepared me for this position... Matawan is small comparatively, and I believe I bring knowledge to almost every aspect of school operations."

Healy brings a variety of experiences, and he is glad to have a dedicated and supportive board of education behind him.

"Without that support, trust and confidence, this would be impossible, and I know that from experience it can sometimes be unbearable," he said. "I can honestly say that this board is committed to the well being of the students."

Healy says he is proud to be part of the Matawan Aberdeen Regional School District. As superintendent, he plans to focus on literacy, technology, safety, efficiency of programs and community building, just to name a few.

"We want to make sure all students - and I want to stress 'all students' - are receiving the best education possible in the least restrictive environment, while meeting their educational needs," Healy said.

Healy watched one of his first initiatives come together at the beginning of this year with the implementation of the , a more comprehensive form of a freshman orientation the encourages student growth and achievement throughout all of freshman year, rather than one day of walking around the high school.

Healy, who is a father of three young girls, is also aware of the informal aspects of education.

"As educators our goal is not only reading, writing and math, but also the unspoken things such as being on time, professionalism, positive attitudes and respecting others. These are the unspoken things that children are watching," he said. "As I became a teacher, I would refer back to the years I had in school to those teachers and people that either built me up or brought me down. Just a few words can change a child's view of themselves, whether for better or worse."

"You have the power to make a difference in the lives of everyone whose lives you touch," he said. "This job for me is a lot of hours but the satisfaction and gratification for me comes from seeing the children and attending graduation and sporting events like the Football team's home opener."