Summit To Appoint New Assistant Principal

SUMMIT, NJ — A new assistant principal of Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School is anticipated to be appointed by the Summit Board of Education on July 12.

Superintendent June Chang recommended the appointment of John Ciferni. He will officially begin his role on July 19.

Ciferni has worked for the Madison Public Schools as a history teacher at the junior school for the past 12 years. He designed social studies curriculum and was an active member of various committees including school climate and vision.

Ciferni served as team leader where he effectively lead and mentored colleagues, as well as advocated for students. He was the advisor for the Peer Leadership program and coordinated multiple service learning opportunities to promote engagement with the local community. During his tenure, Ciferni was recognized as Teacher of the Year and was awarded multiple grants from the local educational foundation.

Working as an administrative intern, one of Ciferni’s primary tasks was to promote school-wide awareness of autism, ADHD, and hearing/visual impairments. He orchestrated multiple professional development workshops on these topics. In his pursuit of “compassion through action” he organized an event that brought Holocaust survivors, along with representatives from social agencies and non-profits, to speak on empowerment through service. Ciferni’s focus on connecting students with the global community motivated him to travel with groups of eighth-graders to several locations, including Costa Rica and Ecuador.

“Mr. Ciferni’s passion for community service, cultural awareness, respect for differences, and the pursuit of instructional innovation all are driven by his desire to implement relevant global learning experiences for his students. He has visited India, Germany, South Korea, Japan, China, and the Dominican Republic on educational grants in order to improve his own teaching practice. His international travel has fostered unique avenues for collaboration, discussion, education, and understanding. I am confident he will draw upon these transformative experiences in his leadership position at LCJSMS,” said Chang.

Ciferni earned a BA in Communications and Political Science from West Chester University, as well as a MA in Secondary Education from Holy Family University.

(Image via Summit Schools: John Ciferni)

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