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Schools

New Nazareth Area Curriculum Director Hired

The Nazareth Area School Board hires Janet Wolff to fill one of its two curriculum director jobs.

The Nazareth Area School District has filled one of its two curriculum director jobs with a 20-year veteran of New York City schools who is leaving her current job in the Allentown School District under the fear of a future layoff.

The school board hired Janet Wolff, currently an assistant principal at Allen High School, as director of elementary education for grades K through 6. Her salary will be $103,000 a year.

Wolff replaces Tamara Gary, who was hired last month as principal of Bangor High School.

She will share curriculum duties with Mark Madson, who will handle grades 7 through 12. Wolff’s start date has yet to be determined, superintendent Dennis Riker said.

Previously, the curriculum directors’ duties were divided by subjects. Gary specialized in social sciences while Isabel Resende—Madson’s predecessor who is now assistant to the superintendent—handled math and science.

Wolff is wrapping up her first year in the Allentown district, which may have to lay off 144 teachers and 12 administrators because of a $22.4 million budget deficit, according to published reports.

Wolff said after Monday’s meeting she has been told that although Allen may be cutting two assistant principal jobs, her position is safe for the upcoming school year.

But she emphasized that the years after that are not certain. And, she noted, “I’m paying for a child in college.”

She said she also was attracted to the Nazareth job because of Resende, whom she met while taking classes at Lehigh University. She said Resende spoke highly of superintendent Riker.

Wolff called Nazareth a “high-performing district” with a “strong leadership team.”

She said she’s passionate about urban education thanks to her experiences in New York and Allentown. She called Allen High’s students “creative, diverse, talented,” but added that the Allentown district’s bleak financial outlook left her concerned about the long term.

In the New York public schools, she held positions in Brooklyn and Staten Island, with her last job being dean of students of Curtis High School in Staten Island.

Before coming to Allentown, she spent five years in the Owen J. Roberts district in Chester County.

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