By Kelly Lapham
With the start of a new school year came the addition of Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School’s first female assistant principal, Brooke Kaska-Esposito, who was unaware of her groundbreaking status when she began her new job in August. “I’ve never necessarily been the first of anything. In my last district there were few female administrators over the past couple of years and they were thought to be unique,” said Esposito. “Some schools are more male dominated, which perhaps comes from a tradition of male-only administrators. There is not a trace of that here.”
A graduate of Ramapo College, Esposito has a masters degree in English education from Columbia University Teachers College and an administrative certificate through the New Jersey EXCEL program. A principal position was not Esposito’s initial goal when she decided to work in education.
She has been a teacher for 11 years, most recently in the English department at Sparta High School. “I wanted to experience what it was like to be a teacher at every stage,” she said. “It was very important to me to wait through my teaching experience so I understood what it was like. Then, I wanted to change more than just my classroom… I wanted to have a hand in making the school environment better.” Esposito was a finalist for administrative positions at other schools but decided on Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School because she thought it “really looked like the dream experience. I feel very lucky to work here.”
Esposito’s first reaction to the high school was that it is a high-performing environment. “It is very student centered. The parents are involved and it seems that students are involved in extracurricular activities,” she said. “Everyone will tell you what a great place to work it is, which lets you know that they’re happy.”
She describes the school spirit here as refreshing. “I came from a school that was very athletic, but the school spirit was not as strong. Strong athletics do not equal strong school spirit,” she said.
Esposito plans to use her responsibility for staff evaluation as a tool to improve the school. “Across the board, teachers don’t get a lot of evaluation. As a teacher, sometimes I experienced a quick sweep in – a n d – s w e e p – o u t evaluation. That’s not fair to teachers because they should be able to show off. I hope to be a partner in that process,” she said. “I hope to be a person that teachers will come to with their issues because I want to support them.”
Esposito wants to be a positive force in a place everyone enjoys attending. The key component to maintaining high morale is “an element of fun and excitement,” said Esposito. “School should be the best place in the world.”