Special education supervisor will be asst. superintendent
BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer

Patricia Callander

HOWELL- Patricia Callander, the supervisor of special education for Howell's K-8 schools, is taking on a new assignment.

Callander, who has worked in the district for about 20 years in different capacities, will become the assistant superintendent of schools in February. She will succeed Susan Vonsover in that position.

Callander is a Howell native who attended the Taunton School and Howell High School. She chooses to work in the Howell School District because, she said, "I wanted to give back to the place where I was raised. I wanted to work with those people."

Her credentials include a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware, a certificate for teaching the handicapped in elementary education, and a master's degree in administration from Jersey City State College.

At the present time Callander is the supervisor of special education where she is responsible for working with teachers, conducting teacher observations and working with the child study team at the middle school level.

When she begins working as the assistant superintendent, Callander's responsibilities will include working with the school nurses, guidance departments, the Board of Education policy committee and updating the school district's crisis manual, among other tasks.

As she gets ready to start working in a new position, Callander said, "I amvery excited to continue to work with the dedicated staff and administrative team of the Howell School District."

In deciding to offer the position to Callander, Howell Superintendent of Schools Enid Golden said, "We conducted a large and intensive search. It became very clear thatMs. Callander was the strongest candidate. She is very dedicated and prepared for the challenges of this position."

Vonsover had nothing but praise for Callander, saying, "The district officials chose her because she has a strong knowledge of special education. She is also very organized, a strong leader and she will be continuing my vision and goals for special education."

Callander specializes in working with pupils who have special needs. She calls the experience rewarding.

"I really feel like I am making a difference in the educational life of that child," she said.

Although Callander enjoys working with pupils who have special needs, she said the highlight of her career as an educator took place when she taught first grade in the Ramtown School in 1988. As she put it, "working with children who were eager to learn, teaching them how to read and working closely with their families" has definitely been the highlight of her career thus far.

Some of the accomplishments Callander has achieved during her career include developing the Strengthening Opportunities for Achievement through Remediation (SOAR) program, implementing additional classes for special education pupils, and placing extra emphasis on reading decoding and fluency.

Callander said her new position as assistant superintendent will give her an opportunity to work in the district at the next level, and a chance to continue to serve the students and families on a broader spectrum.

Callander resides in Point Pleasant with her husband Bruce, and children, John, 8, Colleen, 12, and Mary Kate, 14.

She said, it has been a pleasure to work with all of the students, parents, staff and administrators of the Howell school district. She summed up her career in one word, "fortunate."