Eighth-graders take charge at Valley Road School

It was a typical busy morning in the Main Office at Valley Road School in Stanhope on Friday, June 4, with our administrators-in-training.

Eighth grade students Joel Berkowicz, Fabrizio DiMartino, and Trey Moodie got a real-world taste of what Superintendent Steve Hagemann and Principal Alicia Finklea-DiCataldo do each and every day in the Stanhope School District.

First on the day’s agenda for Superintendents Berkowicz and DiMartino was finding assignment coverage for absent staff members, followed by the next most important item on the to-do list: taking orders for the weekly Dunkin’ Donuts caffeine run for the office staff.

Principal-in-training Trey Moodie was hot on the heels of Mrs. Finklea-DiCataldo as she readied for a busy day of meetings and a demo lesson with a special education teacher candidate.

Moodie, DiMartino, and Berkowicz all dressed the part, wearing button-down shirts, ties, and slacks, and, in Berkowicz’s case, a smart navy suit, with blue and orange necktie, in honor of Hagemann’s favorite baseball team, the New York Mets.

Next up were mock teacher observations conducted by all three future administrators. Mr. Hagemann and Mrs. Finklea-DiCataldo prepared rubrics for the boys to use in conducting the evaluations.

Among the areas the “administrators” observed were: Engagement, Discussion & Participation, Teacher Instruction, Positive Reinforcement and Learning Environment. They used the following mock scoring, from 1 to 5 to score each area of observation:

1. Rarely, needs to get it in gear

2. Sometimes, could do a bit better

3. Mostly, doing pretty alright

4. On point, fantastic job!

5. Certified teaching rock star!

All three boys got a lesson in personnel from Mr. Hagemann, as he reviewed with them the teacher salary guide in anticipation of making an offer to a prospective teaching staff member. On the lighter side, they got to observe Hagemann and Finklea-DiCataldo make an appearance in Mrs. Davis’ first-grade classroom as sharks, donning Dorsal Fin headgear for Shark Week.

Before the day was over the boys also prepared an agenda for an upcoming Faculty meeting, walked the school and oversaw dismissal and met with the building’s facilities coordinator, Joe Neal.

Principal Finklea-DiCataldo said of her protege, Trey Moodie, “He did an outstanding job serving in my position! He really took it seriously, paying close attention to the detailed schedule and navigating all the changes that can happen in a day while ensuring that all of his work was complete by the end. He was kind and caring with the students and worked well with his acting teachers, providing positive feedback and encouragement.”

And Superintendent Hagemann shared these thoughts on his “clones for the day,” DiMartino and Berkowicz: “I was proud to see our kids take this opportunity seriously and they showed genuine interest in how the school is run. It is clear that their future is bright and we’d be lucky to have them as future educators.”

When asked if he would consider a career as an educator, Trey Moodie told Mr. Hagemann he would, but has to “get educated first!” Mr. Hagemann told Trey that he could see him as a teacher because he is “engaging and people follow you.”

Valley Road School also had eighth-grade students acting as classroom teachers, as part of its first annual Shadow a Teacher/Administrator Day.