Schools

Principal Will Miss Diversity of Vocational School

County vocational school principal Edmund Jones is retiring at the end of the year.

He has watched different parts of the school bloom and grow, and is proud of the impact he has personally had on it—and now Edmund Jones, principal of the , has decided to retire after 24 years in the position.

“I’m going to say I’ve enjoyed working with the kinetic group of staff and administrators,” he said. “I feel collectively that we’ve been able to improve the name of the school and give it a better reputation.”

Replacing Jones will be Diane Ziegler, director of curriculum and instruction at the school.

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Jones said he has also been proud to watch the improvement of the school’s gifted and talented performing arts program since he began there.

“[The gifted and talented performing arts program] is a quality state program with notoriety in the state,” he said. “And I am proud of the law enforcement and criminal justice program, and the health science academy. Those were all initiatives from the administrator, superintendent and myself.”

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Jones began his career in education 40 years ago after earning a bachelor of science degree in industrial education at The College of New Jersey and a masters degree in education and community affairs from William Paterson State College.

From there, Jones began as a teacher of mechanical drawing and auto mechanics at New Brunswick High School in 1971, then served as the administrative assistant to the principal. In 1984, he became a coordinator for program development and recruiter/employment specialist for the Twilight Program at the vocational school.

In 1985, Jones was appointed assistant principal at the vocational school, moving to the principal position in 1987.

Jones said he switched from teaching to administration because of the opportunity to impact even more students.

“I taught and I coached in the school system, but I had an interest in administration because I felt I could have a greater impact on the school system,” he said. “As a teacher, you have a limited number of students you work with, but you have a greater influence when you are hiring people who you would hope have the same mindset and interests as yours.”

“So from there, you have a greater impact on the changing environment,” he added. “With the administration, there is more of an opportunity to be influential because you are not limited to classes with 25 kids, you are influencing hundreds of kids.”

But recently, Jones said, he decided it was time to step back and spend some time with his family.

When his youngest of his four children started college four years ago, Jones said, he began to prepare for his eventual retirement.

“I wanted to have some time for doing things with my wife, and we didn’t want more college loans,” he said. “So when we got the notice back in January that she was on target for graduation, there was excitement in my household.”

“We were happy for her that she was on target, but we started the countdown,” he added.

Jones said he and his wife, Donna, are planning to do some traveling, and he is looking to return to coaching pop warner football.

Still, Jones has had a very successful career, and has received awards over the years for his service, particularly in sports.

In 1981, Jones was named the Middlesex County Football Coach of the Year by “The Home News and Tribune,” and, in 1982, he was chosen as the Bicentennial Athletic Conference Football Coach of the Year and the N.J.S.I.A.A. All Star Football Game Coach.

In education, Jones was named the 2011 Educator of the Year by the New Jersey Skills USA organization.

Although he is looking forward to his retirement, Jones, who lives in Franklin Township, said he will miss the students at the vocational school, and the diversity of the student body.

“We have students from all over the county,” he said. “I will miss the diversity and the varied vocational program that are offered.”


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