CSI in the News - CSI Today

August 31, 2009
Franklin, Somerset, principal heading to Red Bank school
district
By LARRY HIGGS
GANNETT NEW JERSEY
After a five-month search, the principal of a large Somerset County high school was named the next
superintendent of the Red Bank Regional High School District.
Howard Lucks, principal of Franklin Township High School, will take over as Red Bank Regional
superintendent Nov. 1. He was appointed by the regional Board of Education on Aug. 26 to succeed
Edward D. Westervelt, who has been with the district 11 of his 43 years in education.
Lucks, a Jackson resident, has 36 years of experience, which includes serving as principal of two
schools in Brooklyn and in Franklin.
"He's coming on board in the second week of October, and I'll overlap, although I'm officially retired
on Nov. 1," Westervelt said. "The state requires anyone who's a new superintendent to go through a
yearlong mentoring process, and I'll be mentoring him."
Lucks served as principal of the 3,000-student New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn from 1997 until
he retired from the New York City school system in 2006. He joined the Franklin district as principal of
the 2,000-student high school there.
Lucks restructured both schools into smaller learning communities, similar to an initiative being
undertaken at Red Bank Regional, school officials said.
In Franklin, Lucks developed a program to address deficiencies in meeting federal No Child Left
Behind annual progress standards. State Department of Education reports showed that Franklin High
School met the average yearly performance requirement in mathematics and language arts literacy
for the past five years.
"The board believes that Dr. Lucks' many attributes, including his vision and passion for education,
coupled with his collaborative approach, will complement our incredibly talented administrative team
to continue the trajectory of RBR's substantial success," said John Garofalo, board president.
The board hired Leadership Advantage, a search firm, to screen 30 to 40 applicants and submit
seven names to the board, Westervelt said. The board interviewed them between June and July, and
narrowed the field to two candidates. The board conducted a second round of interviews with the pair
and did site visits to their schools, he said.
Lucks holds a master's degree in guidance and counseling received from Long Island University in
1978, and received an administration and supervisor professional diploma from the City University of
New York at the College of Staten Island in 1985.
He was awarded the competitive Chancellor Doctoral Scholarship to St. John's University and earned
his doctorate in 2002.
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