East Orange Principal Still Dedicated After 43 Years In School District

East Orange, NJ – Everyone wants to think that they’d put their money where their mouth is. But how many would voluntarily eschew retirement benefits after 43 years of being an educator… all for love of teaching?

Recently, NJ.com profiled Henry Hamilton, principal at Whitney E. Houston Academy in East Orange, who has served at the K-8 grade school as a teacher and administrator for more than four decades.

Despite being eligible for retirement when he was 62, the 77-year-old Hamilton is still at the helm of his beloved school and guiding young minds, the report stated.

"They were looking at me like I was crazy,'' Hamilton told NJ.com, describing a trip to the state pension office in Trenton three years ago, during which he told workers that he planned to keep teaching and forego retirement.

Incredibly, Hamilton didn’t miss a single day of work during his first 33 years in the district, NJ.com reported.

The New Jersey Department of Education Hamilton with a distinguished service award in 2006.

Read the full profile online here.

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Photo via Whitney E. Houston Academy