School district salutes retiring staff members
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

MARLBORO — Employees who will be retiring from the township’s K-8 school district in June were recognized at the Feb. 15 Board of Education meeting.

Richard Shackelton has been a school psychologist in the district since 1973. According to information provided by the district, Shackelton’s greatest strength is his ability to integrate an understanding of a child’s needs, parental concerns and the district’s programs.

“From the beginning, it was evident that underneath his quiet and gentlemanly manner, there was an insightful mind with wisdom to share,” said Kathryn Arabia, principal of the Marlboro Early Learning Center.

Naomi Trachtenberg started working in the district in 1970 as a substitute music teacher. She went on to be a full-time teacher for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders for more than 34 years.

According to the district, Trachtenberg held a special place in her heart for those students who needed an extra dose of kindness or an empathetic ear. She has a caring and compassionate approach to teaching and brings out the best in her students, according to district administrators.

Doris Shirey, the principal’s secretary at the Marlboro Memorial Middle School, is retiring after 25 years of service to the district. Her clear directives to the staff and avid support of student opportunities have placed Shirey in the role of effective leader at the middle school, according to information provided by the district.

After serving the district for 32 years, Geraldine Pincus is retiring. Pincus requested to teach fifth grade after 15 years of teaching primary grades. She was transferred to fifth grade and never looked back.

Sue Petch is retiring after serving the district for more than 35 years. Petch’s greatest legacy was helping the district construct the P.O.P. program, an early childhood intervention program for 3- to 5-year-olds with special needs, according to the district. She played an integral part in the design of the program and continues to be one of its most ardent advocates, administrators said.

Carol Keyes has been a school bus driver since 1979. According to the district, during those years Keyes has maintained an excellent safety record.

Barbara Mowery has been part of the district since 1985 working for the curriculum department, the special services department and at Asher Holmes School. Mowery has made her greatest impact as the secretary to the director and supervisor of special services, according to information provided by the district. She can always be counted on for her reliability, dependability, competence and common sense attitude toward getting the job done, administrators said.

In other school district business, four residents have filed to run for three three-year terms on the Board of Education in the April 19 election.

Incumbents Murray Hoffman, Cynthia Green and Mark Orenzow are running for re-election. Former board member Terry Spilken will also seek a three-year seat.

There will also be an election to complete the final year of an unexpired term. Board member Warren Brumel has filed to run for the remaining year of a term originally won by Bari Sobel.

Any qualified Marlboro resident may file to run for a seat on the school board up until the afternoon of Feb. 28.

In other news, Superintendent of Schools David Abbott and the board congratulated the Marlboro Middle School Mathcounts pupils who competed in the regional competition. The competition included students from Monmouth, Middlesex and Union counties.

The students from seventh grade who competed were Andrew Chien, Daniel Feng and Calvin Hou. The eighth grade participants were Teri Cinco, Dan Feinberg, Ari Hayes, Ram Muthiah and Marjan Zaman.

In the written competition, Cinco placed ninth, Hou placed eighth and Feng placed seventh. In the oral competition, Cinco placed 10th, Feng placed eighth and Hou placed first. The Marlboro representatives finished second in the team competition and advanced to the state finals in March.

The board approved the 2005-06 school year calendar. School will open on Sept. 7 and end on June 21, 2006. School will be closed for Rosh Hashanah (Oct. 4-5) and for Yom Kippur (Oct. 13-14). School will be closed for winter break from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 (reopening Jan. 2) and for spring break from April 8-16 (reopening April 17.)