Back to School: Teachers First

Livingston welcomed more than 800 teachers, administrators and staff back to school on Tuesday, September 3, as they gathered for a pep rally recognizing new beginnings with new Superintendent Dr. John B. Alfieri.
 
“Today marks the first day of my 23rd year in the education profession,” Alfieri said. “Last night marked my 23rd sleepless night, the infamous night before the first day of school --- one alarm clock on one side of the bed, one clear across the room, and the cell phone set as well, just in case.”
 
He wasn’t the only one with anticipation for the first day. Throughout the halls of Livingston High School, where staff gathered before heading off to their own schools, teachers hugged and shared stories of their summer, and introduced to each other the new hires over the summer. About 40 certified teachers, educational support personnel, supervisors, assistant principals, and Hillside’s new principal are new this year.
 
Asked for his advice to the first-year teachers, Alfieri said, “Learn from the excellence already in the room.”  Livingston’s teaching staff numbers 532, and more than 73 percent of the professional staff at Livingston High School holds Master’s degrees and about 3 percent of the staff have received their Doctorates.
 
The staff will greet about 5,800 students when the first bells of the new school year ring on Monday morning, September 9.
 
“Teaching is a selfless profession,” Alfieri observed. “But, would you have it any other way?  Where else can you work and find a new challenge with real meaning every moment of the day? Where else can you do what you love to do and touch the future of the world? Where else can you give a gift to those who need you most?”
 
Alfieri thanked the Livingston Board of Education for their support, the District’s administrative team for working through the summer to guide him, office staffs across the district, his central office colleagues, and the custodial and maintenance personnel for their hard work to get schools ready to open on time.
 
“It is up to us to write the next chapter of the Livingston Public Schools -- this will be our work for the next several years,” Alfieri said. “Through this work, we will open up the doors of possibility for so many students and we will add another dimension to the rich history of Livingston.  The wisdom is in this room. The passion is in this room. All of the ingredients for education excellence are in this room. How can we innovate? How can we motivate? The gap between what is and what is possible has never been smaller."

Read the Superintendent's blog on the LPS website by clicking here.