Dear Parents, Guardians, and Northfield Community,
Welcome back to a new and exciting year at the Northfield Community School District! We are very excited to partner with you to provide our students with the BEST education and experiences possible. Throughout my 17 years in education, September has always been a very exciting time, because it brings with it an opportunity to take our students to bigger and greater heights as they reach their fullest potential. Yes, the start of a new school year is a special time filled with promise and enthusiasm and, as you might imagine, I am especially excited to begin this year as the new Superintendent of Schools.
As a personal introduction, I will share that my wife Colleen and I have been married for 21 years and we have three daughters ages 14, 11, and 10. Those of you with children in that age range will know that keeping up with their many activities and sporting events occupies much of our personal time. Colleen also works in education and is currently Supervisor of Early Childhood Education in the Hamilton Township School District. Prior to beginning my career in education, I was an accountant for 10 years and worked with Merrill Lynch and the casino industry as an internal auditor and financial analyst. Being a native Spanish speaker, I was fortunate enough to start my career in education as a Spanish teacher in the Somers Point School District, where I taught kindergarten through eighth grade for seven years. During this time, I obtained my Masters in Educational Leadership degree from Rowan University and left Somers Point to start my administrative career as a middle school Assistant Principal in the Hamilton Township School District. After three years in Hamilton Township, I had the opportunity to become Principal of the H.R. Swift Elementary School in the Egg Harbor Township School District. I served in that capacity for four years before being afforded the opportunity to serve the Egg Harbor Township School District as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for four more years. As you are now aware, I currently have the honor of serving the Northfield Community as the new Superintendent of Schools, and I am proud to serve you in that capacity.
Transitioning to Northfield has certainly kept me very busy this summer. In addition to preparing for the upcoming school year...hiring, purchasing, updating curriculum, providing summer programs, construction, summer cleaning, etc., I have worked hard to learn the district’s culture, programs, and expectations. My participation in community events has allowed me to see that Northfield is a tight knit community that takes great pride and interest in the children. I have also had the opportunity to work with our fantastic administrative team and the Board of Education in preparation for the 2016-2017 school year. Finally, I have had the opportunity to meet with NEA leadership, PTO leadership, Community Leaders, the Chief of Police, teachers, parents, and students. All of these experiences have confirmed the many great things I had previously heard about Northfield, and I am very excited about meeting many more of you as we work together to build on the many great things we offer our Northfield students.
I am very committed to having open communication with all of you and I encourage you to contact me by phone at (609) 407-4000, email (
pbretones@ncs-nj.org), or by setting up an appointment with my Administrative Assistant, Mrs. Tina Guetzlaff. Please enjoy the rest of your summer and I look forward to seeing all of you for the first day of school on Tuesday, September 6, 2016.
Sincerely,
Pedro P. Bretones
Superintendent of Schools
