Interim Principal Bringing 40 Years Experience to BRHS

He has been in a high school setting for more about 40 years, and now Lew Ludwig is taking his experience to , where he will serve as interim principal from July 1, 2011 to July 31, 2012.

Ludwig will replace current principal , who is retiring at the end of the school year.

“The part I enjoy most is the students because I still have a good ability to connect with them, and I am interested in what they do,” Ludwig said. “I like helping them along the way to make appropriate decisions, and I get a lot of excitement out of helping them reach their goals.”

“And I enjoy working with teachers, and seeing them reach their goals,” he added.

Ludwig will come to Bridgewater following a two-year stint as interim principal at Bernards Township High School.

According to Ludwig, he saw an advertisement for the principal position and decided to go for it, knowing his current two-year term was ending.

“I said that if the district doesn’t find a permanent principal, I would be interested in an interim capacity,” he said.

Superintendent of Schools Michael Schilder said the district used certain criteria, particularly some determined through , to judge finalists for the position. Although many candidates had solid credentials, he said, he did not believe any were a match for the needs of the position.

“Therefore, we decided to look for an interim principal, and will reopen recruitment next year,” he said. “Fortunately, Mr. Ludwig, a highly skilled and well-regarded principal, very much impressed us and was available on an interim basis. I think he will be an excellent fit at the high school.”

Among the criteria used to judge candidates were strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to make wise decisions; highly organized; willing to tackle student workload issues; highly visible throughout the school; strong sense of community; ability to make a large high school feel smaller; and ability to form partnerships with local businesses.

In a focus group to determine criteria for judging candidates, the focus was on being willing to collaborate with stakeholder groups; championing academics, athletics and the arts; knowing how to establish a level of instructional consistency; a strong work ethic; open door policy with staff, parents and students; ability to bring unity to the staff; knowledge of best practices research for secondary education; teaching experience at the secondary level; and experience working with the special needs population.

Ludwig has had a long career in education following his graduation from Westchester University in 1971, when he got a job at Rutherford High School in Bergen County.

While working there, Ludwig said, he did graduate work at Montclair State University, earning a degree in administration and supervision.

“I thought that I would be able to have a broader, larger umbrella of influence,” he said. “I love teaching and I love the kids, but when you get into other roles, you have the opportunity to branch out a little bit and affect more than just your classroom.”

After working at Rutherford High School for 14 years, Ludwig said, he spent another 11 years at Roxbury High School in Morris County and 12 years at Mountain Lakes High School in Morris County before retiring in 2008.

For a year after his retirement, Ludwig said, he taught graduate school classes at St. Mary College, then decided he would get back into the schools themselves, just not on a permanent basis.

“I saw an opportunity at Bernards and it seemed to be a good fit,” he said. “I believe I still have things to offer the faculty, and I still like doing it.”

And over the years, Ludwig said, he has had experience in leadership roles, working as a building administrator, supervisor, athletic director and assistant principal. He has brought that experience to his work in Bernards.

Ludwig said he is looking forward to creating an atmosphere where students can succeed, and he spends his time doing what is necessary so other people do their jobs.

“I try to have a well-run situation where they love coming to work and can do their work,” he said. “I try to take away some ancillary problems and deal with those so teachers can teach and coaches can coach, and counselors can counsel. I think that’s one of the things I can bring to a school.”

As he moves into Bridgewater, Ludwig said, it will take some getting used to, particularly because Bernards is so much smaller with about 800 students, as opposed to more than 2,000 in Bridgewater.

“There’s hardly any schools that approximate Bridgewater,” he said.

Ludwig said most schools run in a fairly similar fashion so he is not very concerned about switching districts at this point. He said he is planning to go into the job the way he does every other job, working the best he can and doing the best he can for the staff and students.

“My wife said she was afraid I was going to go into this the way I always have, and I said that that’s the only way I know how to do it,” he said with a laugh. “It is about figuring out the particular format, but kids are kids and the people who are in this profession are generally caring people or they wouldn’t have chosen a field like this.”

“Switching is not as hard as one might imagine because schools are similar,” he added. “Now I’ve been in four of them and with the number of years of experience I have, it comes quicker than I thought.”

Ludwig said he will meet with Riccobono toward the end of the school year, and learn a bit about the district before he takes over. He said that, at this point, he has gotten familiar with Somerset County, despite the fact that he lives in Boonton Township with prior jobs in Bergen and Morris counties.

But for now, Ludwig said, he is focused on giving all he can to the new district, regardless of the fact that he knows he will only be there for a year. Instead, he said, he knows he has a job to do, and he will give it all he can.

“I don’t go in there three-quarters of the way just because I’m an interim,” he said. “They’ve hired me from what they know of what I’ve done in the past, and it would be unfair of me to cut back.”