A History of Superintendents ––––––– Story by Jordan Schwartz –––––––– While most superintendents these days serve for the same amount of time as a senator or a two-term president, past Clifton school chiefs hung around for about as long as Supreme Court Justices or the Pope. The Clifton Public School District was established in 1914, and there have only been four superintendents during its 93 year history, each serving a shorter term than the last. The first was George Smith who served until 1951, when he was replaced by William Shershin, who held the position for 35 years before passing the reins to his assistant William Liess. In 2002, Liess left and Michael Rice was hired, becoming the first school chief without tenure. With Rice’s resignation, the BOE begins its search for the fifth individual to lead the city’s educational system. And as it does, here is a history of the previous leaders. 1914-1951 George J. Smith In 1907, Smith taught every class at CHS, which was at the time located at the corner of Clifton Ave. and First St. He worked his way up the ranks to the position of principal, and after a year, he was promoted to supervising principal before becoming superintendent. Smith also served as President of the NJ State Teachers’ Association, one of the highest honors among the teaching faculty in the state public school system. He was in charge when former Clifton Race Track property at Piaget and Main Aves. was sold to the city for school purposes and the construction of a ‘new CHS’ began in 1920, with its dedication and opening on April 14, 1926.
Smith was so beloved that the graduating class of June 1926 dedicated its yearbook, The Reflector, to him. “We have in our midst one who has achieved success,” wrote Louis W. Cross (Class of ‘26) in the yearbook. “His success has not been sensational, but has been gradual, as has been that of most successful men.” As the space needs for students grew during Smith’s tenure, a north wing, including a new gymnasium, was added to CHS in 1945. After 44 years, Smith retired in 1951. 1951-1986 William F. Shershin Shershin resigned as the director of Clifton Recreation on July 1, 1951 to become Superintendent and Smith retired two months later on Aug. 31. Like Smith, Shershin was a Clifton teacher and principal (at Schools 11 and 8) before being given the top job. His three and a half decades at the helm were defined by his effort to build more schools to accommodate Clifton’s growing population. On Sept. 26, 1953, School 14 was opened off St. Andrews Blvd. Less that two months later, a 10acre site for a Junior High School on Van Houten Ave. (now WWMS) was purchased and plans for the $1.65 million project were approved by the BOE the following June. On March 16, 1955, the Board of Education selected the Tichenor tract off Grove St. as the site for School 16. The following September, the Clifton School System converted to a 6-3-3 grade structure. Elementary schools taught up to sixth grade, middle schools housed seventh thru ninth grades and the high school began to teach grades 10 thru 12.
George J. Smith
Shershin then detailed an immediate need for a $10 million school building program at the junior-senior high school level during a special meeting of the BOE in March 1956. The superintendent outlined the need for the expansion of the facilities for almost two and a half hours, the Clifton Journal reported, but no action was taken. On April 9, Shershin proposed converting the new Woodrow Wilson Junior high school into a senior high school, the present senior high school into a junior high, constructing a new senior high school on Park Slope on what is now a part of Main Memorial Park, building new junior highs on the Robin Hood Park site and in the Rosemawr section, and erecting a new elementary school on the Quarantine site. Shershin envisioned an “Education Center” formed at Main Memorial Park through the construction of the new high school there as “one of the finest education centers in the East.” One of the features of Shershin’s program was the equality of August 2007 • Clifton Merchant
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