Newly Appointed Principal In West Orange: ‘Education Can Be Fun’

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the West Orange Public School District. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Newly-appointed Liberty Middle School principal Xavier Fitzgerald plans to promote all the positives the school has to offer.

“I have to be fully invested in wherever I am,” he began.

Fitzgerald is beginning his 32nd year in education, 17 of them as principal of Thomas Edison Central Sixth. In 2022, he was asked to fill in at Liberty as acting principal at the start of the school year. Two weeks became three months, and then came the end of the school year. When asked if he would want to assume the full-time role beginning in September 2023, he said yes.

Without knowing whether he would remain, Fitzgerald asked a lot of questions, getting to know staff and building operations.

“I see this as a time for a new beginning,” said Fitzgerald.

“We have so much to promote at Liberty. We have great teachers and kids. We have great community outreach, like our Helping Hands Club. I’m feeling my way with staff and students.”

More than a year post-COVID, school districts are getting back to normal and adjusting to the changes it left behind. One of those things has been the need to address mental health issues.

“Kids today are built differently,” Fitzgerald stated.

“They have been through things by seventh and eighth grade that are intense and they need to talk about them. I’ve had better conversations about life with kids than adults this year. We should not kill a child’s spirit – we should build relationships.”

One of the areas Fitzgerald’s attitude has shifted on is discipline.

“I prefer progressive discipline using restorative practices as my base principle when it comes to disciplinary matters. Discipline is not just one way. There is a difference between norms, what you expect, and rules, what you must follow,” he explained.

“I’m not a fan of suspension. I want to know why a child was sent to my office. ‘Why are we here?’ I prefer progressive discipline. Let’s continue to make a change going forward, and head back to the classroom.”

Other plans include:

• Developing a multi-sensory reading program with specialist Maryann Solimo to provide academic support
• Give recognition in all subjects, invest in kids’ progress at each step. C to a B is a win
• Move classrooms around to create better grade level flow in the way of hallway traffic and supervision
• Get more support from subject supervisors around the building

Fitzgerald recounted the impact of his eighth-grade teacher, Mr. Boehn, while attending school in Paterson.

“My older brother Alex was a superstar. He was tall, popular, an athlete, head of the safety patrol. I was a runt and felt completely in the shadow of my older brother. Mr. Boehn told me he was going to make me the Safety Patrol captain and that he was going to treat me as Xavier and not Alex. I would have followed him anywhere after that, because it was the way he made me feel and not what he taught me. He’s the reason I wanted to go into education.”

As September nears, Fitzgerald wanted to be clear about the message he wants Liberty Middle School to communicate.

“I want the students to know they are cared for and have a safe space to learn. Education can be fun,” he concluded.

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