DeLuca Takes 'Alternate Route' to St. Anthony's School [VIDEO]

When the 130-year-old opens its doors on Wednesday, the 169 students will be welcomed by new Principal Lynn DeLuca.

DeLuca begins her tenure with St. Anthony's School after four years with The New York Foundling, a 140-year-old children’s welfare organization established by the Sisters of Charity in New York City.

The veteran educator and experienced fund-raiser lives in Verona with her husband, Louis. The couple has been married 25 years. Their son, Christopher, is a second-year law student at Pace University.

Since her arrival in July, DeLuca has been both impressed and inspired by the sense of community spirit she has witnessed among the families and staff at St. Anthony's School in Butler.

DeLuca received an undergraduate degree in communications from Seton Hall University before landing a job in the corporate world of commercial television.

From NBC Sports to teaching ABCs, DeLuca’s career has taken many turns, including launching a successful gourmet cake decorating business while raising her son.

But, it was as a substitute teacher, in Montclair’s Edgemont School, where DeLuca found Alternate Route, New Jersey’s non-traditional teacher preparation program.

“I worked for NBC Sports for a number of years, as a manager, traveling across the country,” DeLuca said. “What brought me to education is my love of children. I am energized and enthused by being around young children.”

It’s been 11 years since the Alternate Route educational opportunity launched DeLuca’s own education career. Subsequently, she earned a master's degree in administration from Caldwell College and has taught technology and the gifted and talented program in Roseland, as well as served as the assistant principal in the New Providence School District. 

“I actually covered two K-6 elementary schools with 600 students in each,” DeLuca explained. “That was a big job.”

During that time, DeLuca was asked by her family parish, St. Cassian of Upper Montclair, to use her skills in marketing and advertising to spearhead a capital campaign. The goal was to raise enough funds to build a Habitat for Humanity home in Newark. DeLuca’s campaign surpassed the goal, allowing the parish to build not one, but two homes.

“Through that experience, I felt as though I was looking for another challenge,” DeLuca said. “I was enjoying my tenure in New Providence, but felt as though I was being pulled in another direction.”

She answered that call to service by earning a certification in fundraising and philanthropy from New York University. Shortly thereafter, she took the position of assistant director of development at The New York Foundling.

“My primary role there was to raise funds for their new charter school in the South Bronx,” DeLuca said.

According to The Foundling website, “Mott Haven Academy Charter School is specifically designed to meet the needs of at-risk students who are currently in the foster care and child welfare system.”

DeLuca was instrumental in raising funds to build the new, state-of-the-art educational facility, which will ultimately serve 315 students in grades K-8. In addition, two of the grants DeLuca secured for Mott Haven Academy have made it possible for the students to have access to primary health care and improved nutrition.  

Nutrition remains an area of interest for DeLuca, and this fall, nutrition will be one of two new curriculum initiatives to be implemented at St. Anthony's School. 

“We’ve developed a new lunch program in conjunction with one of our parents, who is a graduate of the Culinary Arts Institute of America,” DeLuca said. “All healthful, non-processed, food.”

In conjunction with the healthy-eating initiative, nutrition classes will be added to the curriculum and an afterschool cooking club will be established.

The second initiative will be the integration of a middle school writing program.

“We’ll be using a nationally acclaimed model known as the Four Square Writing Program,” DeLuca said. “It targets toward visual learning abilities. That happens to be a very wide-spread learning style. So, we’re targeting a wide range of abilities in our students.”

In addition to working with parents and teachers to implement new curriculum, DeLuca has asked for assistance in updating the landscaping outside and painting colors on the walls inside the building. She reported that an impressive number of parents and students volunteered this summer to achieve those goals. 

As the first day of school approaches, DeLuca is also preparing for the many school-wide events and fundraisers that are upcoming like the Sept. 18 family picnic at the Stonybrook Swim Club and the Oct. 14 golf outing. 

“I was looking to provide leadership in a faith-based environment,” DeLuca said. “Saint Anthony's School has just been a blessing for me.”

Download the movie

Download the movie