Submitted by Gary Miller, Linden Public Schools
“If you don’t love our kids, you can’t work here.”
Those were the words of Linden Superintendent Danny Robertozzi when he was listing his expectations for the coming school year.
It was a direct call for love on Wednesday, September 6, as about 1,000 faculty and staff from the entire district crowded into Linden High School’s gym for the third annual district Launch, a day before students reported for school.
Staff members performed an adaptation of “Season of Love” from the Broadway musical “Rent.” The new version was titled “Leading With Love,” with lyrics by Linden High teachers Barbara Brady and Duane Cosby. It was a reference to “Lead Your Legacy,” the theme of the Launch. (A video of the performance can be seen at https://youtu.be/PIBBRkAFITA)
Keynote speaker Chelonnda Seroyer, a noted educator who was born and raised in Plainfield and who travels the country speaking to school districts, spoke repeatedly about the difference that school staff – not just teachers – can make in a student’s life by caring.
Seroyer, who works in Alabama, said the best school districts are the ones that are well-managed, not unlike a retail store. She asked the audience to consider the fast food world, and held Chick-fil-A up as a model that is far above its competitors.
“Linden Public Schools is the Chick-Fil-A of school districts!” she said. “I’ve never said that anywhere else before. My usual line is, ‘You, too, can be a Chick-Fil-A.’” She said the culture in the building and great customer service make the difference for Chick-fil-A.
“I feel like they say, ‘If you don’t treat people like this, you don’t work here,’ ” she said. “And I literally just heard your superintendent say that.” Seroyer was generous in her praise for Dr. Robertozzi and the Linden Public Schools as “a district that gets it.” “This is by far the best beginning-of-school launch I’ve been to in 12 years. I want you to know how blessed you are,” said Seroyer. “I want you to give yourself a hand because this is amazing.”
Seroyer told stories from around the country of the impact – good and bad – that school staff can have on students. She told of one student in Alabama who fell asleep in class every day. When a teacher asked the student about it, he said his parents were on drugs and had disappeared for weeks. He said he had to get a full-time job and only came to school to get lunch.
One day, a lunch server told the student, who received free lunch, that he had too much food and had to put some back or pay for it. The student threw his tray across the room, and never came back to school.
“Never underestimate the impact you have,” she told the rapt audience.
She told another story of a student who fell asleep in class every day. The teacher woke her each day, but did not embarrass her. The teacher told the girl that if she stayed awake, she would pass the class. It turns out the girl’s mother was suffering with cancer, and the daughter had to stay up all night giving her mother pain medicine, or she had to sleep in a chair when her mother was admitted to the hospital.
“But the teacher didn’t need to know all the background just to care,” Seroyer said.
Sometime later, the girl’s mother died. The girl had nowhere to go. When someone asked her where she wanted to be taken, she said to the school.
“That girl was me,” Seroyer said, as audience members gasped. “I wanted to be in a building where people loved me. Every one of you has the power to affect a child’s life.”
The second part of Wednesday’s district Launch was a picnic at Tiger Stadium at Cooper Field, and Linden’s hardy staffers didn’t let a little rain dampen their enthusiasm.
The event featured grilled food generously donated by Applebee’s of Linden as well as box lunches from Pomptonian Food Service. Activities included dancing with a DJ, wine-glass painting, raffles, a 50/50, chair massages, sponsored giveaways, and games including Family Feud, ping-pong, and cornhole. (A video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/vHoqfbA7yh4)
The best part was getting together with colleagues to celebrate the start of a new school year.
(above) Linden Public Schools Superintendent Danny Robertozzi speaking alongside Launch chairpersons Annabell Louis, left, supervisor of student services, and Yelena Horre, Linden High School principal, on Wednesday at the Linden High gym.
(above) Giant beach balls energize the crowd before the start of Linden Public Schools’ Launch.
(above) Servers from Applebee’s in Linden handing out grilled hamburgers and hot dogs that the restaurant donated to the Linden Public Schools Launch at Tiger Stadium at Cooper Field.
