Mt. Laurel Superintendent Antoinette Rath has never been one to take credit for accomplishments within Mt. Laurel Schools.
During every Board of Education meeting, Rath always takes time to thank all students, teachers, staff, parents and others for being a positive influence on the district.
During last night’s Board of Education meeting, however, the school district got a chance to thank Rath instead.
The board and administration surprised Rath with a special ceremony and plaque commemorating her selection as the Burlington County Superintendent of the Year for 2014. Presenting the award to her were Michael Gorman, superintendent for Pemberton Township Schools, and Christopher Manno, superintendent of schools for the Burlington County Special Services District and Burlington County Institute of Technology.
Gorman served as the chair of the selection committee and believed the selection of Rath was well deserved. He acknowledged her leadership skills and spoke of how she influenced him.
“I was the person who always used to sit in the back of the room,” Gorman said. “She inspired me to sit in the front of the room.”
Both Gorman and Manno remarked on Rath’s care and passion for education in Mt. Laurel. Rath has served as the superintendent since 2002. During her tenure, the district has unveiled its Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programs for grades five through eight. Rath and the administration have also made a number of education program and curriculum changes with the shift to Common Core State Standards in the past few years.
What many Mt. Laurel residents don’t hear about is Rath’s involvement in education outside the township. Manno said she is very involved with education reform in the state. She currently serves as an executive board member of the New Jersey School Development Council at Rutgers University.
Participants in the Mt. Laurel School Summit saw firsthand Rath’s knowledge of education reform in the state in May. Rath gave a timeline and overview of the implementation of PARCC in the district, pinpointing areas such as school attendance where Mt. Laurel could improve. She explained the district was looking at ways to better prepare parents and improve attendance in advance of PARCC testing next year.
Last night’s ceremony took place in front of dozens of new teachers who will begin working in Mt. Laurel Schools in September. Manno believes many of them will learn a lot from Rath’s work ethic and perseverance.
“Toni is a role model to us in that she’s truly a member of the education community,” Manno said.
Rath has always been happy to acknowledge others’ successes in the district, but when it came to her own ceremony, she was speechless.
“We have so many exceptional superintendents in our district,” she said. “It’s such an honor.”
With being named the county’s superintendent of the year, Rath is now eligible for New Jersey’s Superintendent of the Year award, which will be announced in November.
Even though the ceremony was for Rath and her achievement, she made sure to again thank the teachers and staff in the Mt. Laurel Schools. While the award may have had her name on it, Rath said she would not be where she is today without the support of the school community.
