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In 2017 I retired as principal of the Millburn Middle School in Millburn Township, New Jersey. Earlier in my career I spent 12 years as an English/Language Arts teacher, primarily in eighth grade. While it was never my intention to become a principal, it nevertheless became my path in life, thanks to wonderful mentors and supporters from the school and community and opportunities to grow and lead along the way. 

The Schooling of a 21st Century Principal is about my journey of becoming a teacher and a principal. In my book I convey what it was like to face the trauma and tragedy of 9/11 on my fourth day of my first year as principal. I connect the influence of one particular professor at Seton Hall University, Sister Rose Thering, O.P., Ph.D., to my school’s future coursework, projects, and events about the Holocaust, including a prom for survivors who never experienced this coming-of-age ritual. I chronicle our school’s growing pains as our enrollment climbs by 700 students. And I try to capture the universe of middle schoolers and what it’s like to run a school inhabited by students in transition from childhood to adolescence.

The ushering in of the 21st Century changed everything about the culture of schools from stressed children to bulldozer parents to the domination of technology and political reforms in learning standards, assessment, and teacher evaluations. These transformations and other challenges, including heavy-handed anti-bullying legislation, the threat of school shootings, and working in one of the nation’s most affluent districts and its pressure cooker environment, are all captured from the insider perspective of the principal who lived them.

Purchase a copy of The Schooling of a 21st Century Principal HERE.

Ebooks/Print-On-Demand books are now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Life in a middle school is not for everyone, but once I discovered the joys of teaching preadolescents, I became “stuck in the middle.” On my Blog I have uploaded newsletter columns I have written over the years. Some capture the earlier history of when technology became a powerful change agent in the lives of preadolescents. Others deal with specific topics important to the welfare of our young learners. A couple are a testament to members of our staff whose contributions enriched and enhanced our collective middle school experience. They are all about “life in the middle.”