Old Bridge educators are a lesson in loyalty High school staff includes 55 alumni of school system BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer Longtime Old Bridge High School teacher Walter Reed accepts a certificate from Superintendent of Schools Simon Bosco during the March 5 ceremony recognizing the 55 staff members who are alumni of the township's high schools. OLD BRIDGE - Walter Reed taught his family well. After graduating from the first high school class in town in 1964, Reed ended up teaching a young woman who would eventually become his wife. Years later, his own children sat in his classroom. With 39 years of service at his alma mater under his belt, Reed has seen a lot. "You start teaching the children of people you went to school with," Reed said. "Probably for the past 15 years now, I've been teaching the children of children I taught. I'd probably stay a few more years if I was a little bit younger." Reed, a television production teacher at Old Bridge High School, is the longest career veteran of the staff alumni who were honored last week in a ceremony at the high school. At an afternoon faculty meeting, Principal James Hickey and other school officials recognized the staff members who once walked the halls of the township's high schools as students. The graduation dates of the alumni ranged from 1964 to as recently as 2002. "They have a vested interest in seeing the place succeed," Hickey said. "There's real loyalty. They're giving back to the system that produced them - there must be something special about the place." The 55 alumni represent over 20 percent of the high school's faculty. They all attended one of the three high schools that have existed in town since 1964. Madison Township High School, known as Madison Central as of 1976, was the first high school in town. Cedar Ridge followed in 1976, then the two merged to become Old Bridge High School in 1994. Hickey said he would like to expand recognition of alumni staff to other schools in the district in the future. "I think [it] sends an important message," Hickey said. "I think the kids will see it in a positive light." Along with certificates of appreciation for contributing to the school's legacy, the staff members received pins that proclaimed their status as alumni. Hickey asked that each of those recognized wear their pin at school during the week. "I wanted to give back what the school gave me," Robin Lecesse said. A seven-year veteran who graduated in 1979, Lecesse teaches in the cosmetology program where she once earned her certificate. "It was very important to me to keep the program going," Lecesse said. Jamie Sporer, a 1996 graduate who teaches special education at the school, said she knew she wanted to come back to Old Bridge to teach because of the opportunities she saw there. "A bunch of [the staff] said they would take me under their wing, and they have," Sporer said. Bryan Garnett also felt a draw back to his alma mater. After graduating in 1980, he attended Trenton State College. When it was time for him to do his student teaching, his advisers told him he could not do it at Cedar Ridge, where he had attended. He was, however, able to fulfill his requirement at Madison Central, which happened to be his own alma mater's rival in the town. Garnett coached wrestling and football at Madison, eventually landing a position as a physical education teacher. "Believe it or not, there were people disappointed that I was at Madison," said Garnett, named District 20 and Region 5 wrestling Coach of the Year. "But that all went away. We realized we're one big family." Garnett was not the only staff member forced to contend with rivalry issues upon returning. Claudia Pace, a peer leadership teacher, graduated from Madison Central in 1977. For the first 15 years of her 23-year stint in Old Bridge schools, she taught at Cedar Ridge. Pace said it was strange at first, especially serving as the cheerleading coach for teams she once rooted against. "All of my clothes were blue and white, then I had to go out and buy green and yellow for my wardrobe," Pace said. Like Reed, Ruth Scott has seen a lot during her 39 years in the school system. The 1965 graduate said she plans to retire in June. Now a guidance counselor, she was originally hired by Pete Delaney, her former English teacher. "It was more of a family-type atmosphere [then] because we were smaller," Scott said. "You knew everybody, we socialized together. The mere size is what I find the biggest challenge." Another challenge Scott has faced is the lack of other African American staff members at the school. She and Vice Principal Raymond Payton are the only African Americans on staff. "They haven't hired an African American teacher in 30 years," Scott said. "The population is diverse, but the staff is not. That's very discouraging to me." Scott, who ran the school's African American Club for 12 years, said she does not think there is a deliberate exclusion of African Americans on the school's staff. But the lack thereof is a big concern for her. "Clearly, we are a district committed to diversity," Hickey said, adding that other minority groups are represented among the staff members. Overall, the alumni staff conveyed a special connection to the school, whether they attended somewhat recently or decades ago. "There is a bond between the former graduates and the students," Garnett said. For Reed, who has enjoyed that bond with several generations of students, some things remain the same. "I think size is the big difference," Reed said. "Teenagers are teenagers. They're a great group."