Schools
Parents Say Goodbye to Longtime Sicomac Principal
Debra Kirsch will retire at the end of this year, and parents said their goodbyes at a party on Wednesday.
Parents will won’t easily forget longtime Sicomac principal Debra Kirsch, who will be leaving the school for retirement at the end of the year. And on Wednesday, they had a chance to say goodbye to the departing educator.
Kirsch led the school for 18 years, and among her most recent accomplishments at the helm was achieving a “Rewards School” distinction from the state. Sicomac was one of only 57 schools in New Jersey and ten in Bergen County to receive the distinction for high proficiency in student test scores.
Parents organized a sendoff in the school’s outdoor garden, another of Kirsch’s visions. The garden in the courtyard of the school houses outdoor learning, and the principal got her hands dirty planting with students and teaching practical science lessons after its construction through fundraising efforts by parents four years ago.
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“It was a way for the parents to say goodbye, and show how much we appreciate what she’s done for the school,” PTO president Dena Allen said.
“She’s been very easy to work with,” she continued. “She’s always looking out for the best interests of the kids, and she wants Sicomac to rise above.”
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Students will also have their chance to say goodbye to the departing principal on Friday, Allen said. When her retirement was announced in March, she reassured students that she would personally teach the new principal the Sicomac traditions they’ve grown accustomed to.
That new principal, the district announced earlier this month, will be Steve Raimo, the former Eisenhower principal who is currently employed by the district as the director of planning, research and evaluation. He begins his new job at the elementary school in August.
“It’s been a great 18 years,” Kirsch said Wednesday. “The families were supportive. The community supports education and it makes coming to work every day a joy.”
But joyous as the workdays may have been, she looked forward Wednesday to a slower pace after the school year winds down.
Her plans for retirement: “I look forward to having my alarm clock radio not come on at 5 a.m.”
