Board of Education Approves New Hires

The South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education approved the superintendent of school's recommendations regarding filling two district positions at its Monday night meeting.

The board chose Philip Stern, who spent 23 years as an attorney for the state of New Jersey, to serve as its in-house counsel. While working for the state, Stern worked on more than 50 education-related cases.Before becoming a lawyer, he was a middle school social studies teacher in the Montclair school district for eight years and spent two years teaching first grade at Kids School, a private, alternative institution in Newark.  

Artist and educator Mara Rubin was selected to be the district's supervisor of fine and performing arts K-12. Rubin has worked as an art teacher at Mahwah High School since 2007, served as the head of the art department and founding teacher of the Mott Hall High School from 2004-2007 and as an art teacher in Bronx High School of Science in 2004.  

Jefferson School is getting a new assistant principal. Laura Swyberius, whose background is in special education, has been assistant to the principal since 2006. She received a bachelor's degree in Teacher of the Handicapped and a master's in Reading Specialization from Kean University, and received an administrative certificate from the University of Scranton.