New Athletic Director, WHS Assistant Principal Appointed In Westfield

WESTFIELD, NJ — A new athletic director and a new Westfield High School assistant principal were appointed Tuesday night.

At its May 7 meeting, the Westfield Board of Education approved the appointment of James DeSarno as Director of Athletics / K-12 Physical Education and Health Supervisor, effective July 1 with a salary of $160,000.

DeSarno will succeed Sandra Mamary, who is retiring after 37 years in the Westfield Public School District, 14 of them as Athletic Director.

Also effective July 1, the Board approved the appointment of Edison Intermediate School
Assistant Principal Jacqueline Spring to succeed WHS Assistant Principal Dr. Warren Hynes,
who has accepted a position in a neighboring school district. Spring's salary will be $120,000.

James DeSarno

DeSarno joined the Westfield Public School District in 2006 as a physical education teacher and
award-winning head football coach at the high school, serving 7 years as a PE educator before
becoming WHS Assistant Principal in 2013.

Prior to coming to Westfield, DeSarno held a variety of PE and coaching positions at schools in Kinnelon, Linden, and Newark.

"After working at a few districts and coming to Westfield I immediately knew this was a special place," said DeSarno at the meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Raymond González said the Board chose DeSarno after a review of 66 applications.

"Personally I am looking forward to working with Jim and Jim's leadership as he builds on the legacy of Ms. Mamary and the foundation of excellence that is our Westfield High School athletics and really our middle school athletics program as well," said González.

Gonzalez said that in addition to DeSarno's leadership on the fields and courts, he will also be working with the district's curriculum department to lead their health and PE teachers "to ensure a comprehensive, comparable, excellent curriculum in health and physical education."

DeSarno holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from Montclair State University and a Master’s in Educational Administration from Kean University.

"It's important to continue to promote the physical, mental, emotional and the social needs of our students while equipping them with the knowledge for a healthy and fulfilling life," said DeSarno.

Jacqueline Spring

Spring has served as Assistant Principal of Edison Intermediate School. Spring joined the district 17 years ago as a social studies teacher at Westfield High School.

She served as district coordinator of the Project '79 program, a college-preparatory alternative that combines strong academics with a humanistic approach to support students who are not achieving the success they would like at Westfield High School. Spring also taught for 14 years in the Project '79 program.

"Having the opportunity to get to know Jackie in her capacity as a leader is with excitement that we see her move into her role as a high school administrator taking with her her experience as an administrator in the middle school to really help to make that transition between middle and high school as effective as possible," said González.

Spring holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
and a Master’s in Educational Administration from Kean University.

Spring was chose out of 151 applications for the WHS assistant principal position.

"I believe the best work grows out of strong rapport between school, students and families and I hope to build productive relationships that support students to reach their highest potential going forward," said Spring.

González said the district will conduct a search to fill the open assistant principal positions at Edison and Westfield High School from DeSarno and Spring.

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