JNews: Gatens, Brian (MCYYYY)
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnF
lZUVFeXk0OSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzE2NjM3NCZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd
2cWVlRUV5eTQ=
New principal brings ideas, energy to Harrington Park
The Record
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
By WALTER DAWKINS STAFF WRITER
***Begin Quote***
HARRINGTON PARK — When Brian Gatens heard there was an opening for a principal at a K-8 school here, he knew it was the perfect job for him.
“Harrington Park has all the elements that administrators are looking for: strong principal support, fantastic kids, solid faculty and a great facility,” said Gatens, 36, who will start the $109,500-a-year position in August, replacing Scott Davies, who will be the new principal at Gibbs Elementary School in New Milford.
Gatens was principal of Roosevelt Elementary in Hawthorne, where he worked with Harrington Park Superintendent Adam Fried – formerly Hawthorne’s director of education.
“Adam and I have a really good relationship, and we work really well together,” said Gatens, who has two master’s degrees in education, one as a reading specialist from Fordham University and the other in school administration from Manhattan College. “So I applied for one job, and it was Harrington Park.”
At Hawthorne, Gatens and Fried started unique, 90-minute-long evening tutoring sessions for struggling students to improve their grades and test scores.
“I kind of dreamed it up, and Adam helped me bring it to fruition,” Gatens said. “And that kind of showed me that he was the kind of person that I wanted to keep working with.”
For Fried, the feeling is mutual.
“We believe his energy, compassion for kids and knowledge of education will be a wonderful addition to an already strong administrative team,” Fried said.
Gatens, who lives in Ridgewood, said his first goal will be to introduce himself to the school community. In early August, he plans to have a movie day at the school for kindergarteners, first-graders and their parents.
“We’re going to call it a beach party,” Gatens said. “The kids will watch the movie, and at the other end of the room we’ll have a reception for the parents where they get to meet me.”
For the older kids, he’s going to reach out to members of the district’s student council.
“These kids are the leaders of the building,” Gatens said. “I want to bring those kids in and have them show me the building, walk me around and get to know me.”
Gatens plans to be a very active presence in the school.
“Another goal that I have here is that every child sees me everyday,” Gatens said. “When children feel that the adults who are around them are genuinely interested in them, then they respond well academically and socially.
He said his goal is also to develop well-rounded students.
“Academics are huge but we also want to help foster children who are compassionate and caring. It’s more than about how well you can do on a test. It’s about creating good people,” he said.
***End Quote***
# # # # #
