Summer break ... Who needs it???
School may be out, but many teachers can be found hard at work
BY KRISTIN BOYD
Correspondent

CHRIS KELLY staff Kathy Schumann works with Apeksha Parmar, 6, during a Summer Academy session last week at East Brunswick's Chittick Elementary School. Schumann spent the first half of her summer break working to help students prepare for first grade.

Today's lesson: How I spent my summer vacation.Write that on the blackboard 100 times, and then come see Kathy Schumann, who taught at the East Brunswick School District's Summer Academy program for three weeks last month.

From 8 a.m. to noon, Schumann helped kindergarten grads improve their language, reading and writing skills before they enter first grade. The summer gig, she said, gave her a sense of accomplishment.

It also gave her a few extra bucks.

Hundreds of area teachers like Schumann are forgoing their two-month summer vacations. Instead, they spend much of their school breaks either working side jobs to earn money or taking college courses to earn advanced degrees.

Old Bridge High School teacher Evan Wigdortz is waiting tables at a local racetrack, while his colleague Dave Morrongiello is crunching numbers as an accountant.

Back in East Brunswick, Jo-Anne Bijas, a teacher at Hammarskjold Middle School, has her nose in the books as she completes distance-learning courses for her doctorate degree.

Schumann signed up for Summer Academy after realizing her children, ages 9 and 12, no longer needed her as a daily chauffeur. She spent her previous summers carting them to and from camp and other activities, she said.

"I don't mind working," said Schumann, a first-grade teacher at Memorial School in East Brunswick. "I enjoy it. All the teachers are [at Summer Academy] because they want to be. You wouldn't do this just for the money. You have to love it, and it's a lot of fun."

Schumann spent the first weeks of vacation at Summer Academy, where she taught an eager group of youngsters how to pronounce words and practice handwriting. Their willingness to learn, she said, made her job easy.

"It really didn't feel like work because I love teaching reading," she said. "I love making up little games. Those three weeks went so fast. The kids in my class loved coming to class. They would come in and say, 'What are we doing today? Can I read with you first?'"

Schumann's summer job wrapped up July 25, and while she will miss it, she was looking forward to relaxing for the remainder of her vacation.

"I had eight children [in class], and they all went up two reading levels," she said. "You feel the difference right away. [Summer Academy] helps the kids so much. It was a good experience for me, too, but I want to spend time with my kids now."

Her own children will be happy to know that Schumann plans to spend her extra earnings on them. Maybe a video game. Or back-to-school shopping.

"I don't know yet," she said, "but I will definitely do something nice for my kids."

From September to June, Evan Wigdortz is known as Coach Wigdortz.

During the summer break, however, he is known as plain ol' Evan, waiter extraordinaire at Monmouth Park Racetrack.

"I really don't like serving, but I like having a break from teaching," said Wigdortz, a history and social studies teacher at OBHS who is also an assistant coach for girls varsity soccer and girls varsity basketball.

"I like doing something really different; mindless work," he added. "It's the perfect summer job."

Wigdortz often serves as host of VIPs at the racetrack a restaurant. He has taken orders for actor Joe Pesci and rock band Bon Jovi. He worked a birthday party thrown for Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis and catered to Gov. Jon S. Corzine.

"I was right there asking them, 'Hey, what do you want’" Wigdortz said nonchalantly.

Wigdortz decided to keep his seasonal job at the racetrack when he began working at the high school five years ago. Good thing, he added, because the newlywed now has a stack of bills that includes a monthly mortgage payment.

"I wanted to save some extra money, and you have to pay your bills during the summer, too," he said last week during his dinner break.

At the racetrack well-to-do patrons help Wigdortz rake in about $500 in tips during a typical three- or four-day work week, he said.

"It's pretty good," he said. "It helps me get by."

While working is not the ideal summer recreation, Wigdortz said the job helps him stay active during July and August.

"I think I would get bored at home all the time," he said. "I have friends who work [at the racetrack]. It's more just of a hang-out job. It's good hours. It's a pretty good atmosphere. It keeps you moving. You just smell like food when you leave."

Jo-Anne Bijas hasn't had a summer break in three years. Instead, the seventh-grade social studies teacher stays put in the classroom - a virtual classroom, that is.

Bijas, along with two colleagues Dana Zimbicki and Anna Braun, is studying for her doctorate in education through a distance-learning program offered by Walden University. She takes classes in the fall, spring and summer.

So while her pupils are splashing at the local pool or hanging out at the mall during July and August, Bijas is busy completing her own pile of course work. "This should be my last summer. Yes, yes, yes," she said, laughing. "Hopefully, by this time next year, I'll be finished. Then, I'll have a summer vacation again."

Studying during the summer months can be a drag, Bijas said. But on the plus side, it's much easier to focus on her course work.

"It does cramp my style a little bit," she said. "I don't get to go to the beach that much. But in the summer, I have all day to work on something, and I can really focus my time because I don't have other things to do."

Still, this beach bunny finds time to squeeze in some sunshine. On a hot day last week, she put down the books and spent the day at the beach in Belmar.

"I can pick and choose the days I want to work," Bijas said. "The day before, I worked the entire day. At this point, I'm seeing that light at the end of tunnel, and thank God it's getting brighter. But you can't work all day, every day. You have to take a break."

However, she'll have her nose back in the books this week, she said. She is writing chapters for her dissertation about the Constructivist Learning Theory and its application to middle-school social studies.

"I really think that in teaching you have to keep current of what's going on," she said. "You have to get that knowledge and bring it back to the classroom."

Dave Morrongiello likes having the best of both worlds.

During the school year, he teaches accounting and general business at Old Bridge High School. Then, he spends his summer breaks working as an accountant - crunching numbers and catching up on the latest business news.

"I get a lot more enjoyment out of teaching than the daily accounting work, but I really like to stay current in the field and know what's going on," he said. "[Working during the summer] helps me stay fresh and gets me re-energized. It helps me be a better teacher."

And the extra paycheck doesn't hurt, he added, laughing. "The extra income helps."

Morrongiello worked as a CPA for seven years before switching career tracks and earning his teacher's certification. He now returns to his accounting roots every year, both during the summer break and tax season.

"I can bring a lot of what I learn into the classroom," he said. "I can bring real-world topics to the classroom. It enhances my teaching, having this skill on the side."

Still, like many teachers, Morrongiello relishes his break from the classroom. The school year can be draining.

"I compare teaching to performing in a show," he explained. "You're doing a show like five times a day. By the time June comes around, you need a break."

Morrongiello works about 20 hours a week in the summer, a drop from his 40-hour work week during the school year.

"Working now gives me more adult time. The 10 months that you're teaching is all about the students," he said.

But this accountant is not all work and no play. He calculates a few days off for some rest and relaxation.

"I actually make plenty of time to go to the beach," he said. "Plenty of time."