On Thursday, March 19 four Evesham Township School District eighth-grade student leaders assumed the role of ETSD superintendent for one day.
Together, the students and ETSD Superintendent John Scavelli visited two classrooms, toured the transportation yard, and met with the district cabinet to learn about the tasks and responsibilities required to manage a dynamic school district effectively and efficiently.
The four students — each the president of their house at DeMasi and Marlton Middle Schools — had a glimpse of what a leadership position in education might entail. Justin Thach and Renee White from DeMasi, and Kara Rosner and Caraline Christie from Marlton Middle accompanied Scavelli on visitations to Patricia Giroux’s Kindergarten class at Van Zant Elementary School and Michelle Hopp’s and Suzanne Delfino’s first-grade class at Marlton Elementary School.
“I really liked meeting the little kids and visiting their classrooms because it reminded me of when I was little,” said Christie, who also told Scavelli she liked working with kids and may want to pursue becoming a teacher.
“They’re so happy all the time.”
After their visit to both classrooms, Scavelli spoke with the students about the history of the school district; he also gave them some facts they found surprising about the district, such as the number of employees needed to run ETSD: more than 900.
“Being a superintendent is a lot of work and I think people under-appreciate Mr. Scavelli,” Thach said. “It’s a lot more than looking over everything.”
Scavelli, who has been in administration for 24 years and before that was a teacher, said the annual day always is beneficial for him as well, as it gives him a perspective on what the student leaders think about the way their schools are run.
“I look forward to this day every year,” Scavelli said. “Every project has a set of paperwork, but it’s not just about what is on paper, so it’s good for me to be out in the schools. It’s really interesting to hear their perspective and what they see.”
Scavelli brought his protégés around the administration building to meet some members of his cabinet, including Richard Dantinne, director of personnel; Danielle Magulick, director of curriculum and instruction; and John Recchinti, school business administrator. The cabinet spoke with the students about their role at ETSD. Finally, the students had lunch with Scavelli and returned to their own schools.
Scavelli said he hopes that the students carry this experience with them, whether or not they pursue a career in education or, as he proposed, become future Board of Education members.
“For them, they don’t know what’s behind the scenes, so this is an opportunity to get a glimpse of what has to happen for the kids in this district to be in a classroom, from the moment a child gets on the bus in the morning to the custodial staff cleaning up at the end of every school day,” Scavelli said.
