Bonnie Todd Marino starts her new job Monday as principal of the William H. Ross School in Margate.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – Bonnie Todd Marino said she is excited to be part of the city’s “wonderful school system and active, caring community.”
Marino will start her new job as principal of the William H. Ross Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 2. She replaces longtime school district employee Audrey Becker who was promoted to superintendent of the Margate schools following former Interim Superintendent Thomas Baruffi’s departure on June 30.
Baruffi will oversee the Ocean City school district on a temporary basis while the Board of Education seeks a permanent replacement for Superintendent Kathleen Taylor who retired effective Aug. 1.
“I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Bonnie Marino to our administrative staff in Margate,” Becker said. “She comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and experiences from some of the best local school districts in our area. Her previous success as a teacher and administrator, along with her understanding of curriculum and strong pedagogy, will make her an outstanding educational leader for our elementary school.”
Marino comes to the Margate school district from Brigantine, where she was supervisor of curriculum and instruction and supervisor of the district’s early childhood education program for the last two years. The administrative role taught her how to educate children safely during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I learned so much there and was ready for a new opportunity, so I interviewed when the position was posted. I love the administrative team here with Audrey, Ryan (Gaskill), Loreen (Cohen) and Dr. Baruffi,” whom she knew during her years teaching in the Linwood school district where Baruffi was superintendent.
Becker said the district’s youngest learners will benefit from her ideas and direction, which will “strengthen their primary experiences and development.”
Like Margate, the schools in Brigantine were able to offer in-person learning during the pandemic, mainly because both districts had the room for social distancing that made it possible. Enrollment in the Brigantine district has 440 students in one building, while the Margate schools have 382 students in two buildings, 193 of them at the Ross School.
Marino said she is grateful to be able to work in another small school district.
“I may be new to this district, but I’m not new to the small South Jersey world,” she said.
Marino, who grew up in Linwood and went to Holy Spirit High School before majoring in communication at the University of Pennsylvania, said she is looking forward to learning about all the district’s educational programs.
“This is a very special place and I’m lucky to be here. I like the community feel,” she said.
Marino, who has spent several summers pursuing new things to bring back to the classroom, said she is a “STEM person,” and looking to bring new science, technology, engineering and math programs into the school.
After graduating from Penn, she took a job as a library science teacher at the Emma C. Attales School in Absecon, before moving to the Brigantine North School where she taught fifth grade science and reading. She was named Brigantine’s Teacher of the Year in 1999 and went on to be selected as the Atlantic County Teacher of the Year. After six years in Brigantine, she moved on to the Belhaven Middle School in Linwood where for 19 years she taught many subjects, including science, math, social studies, language arts and health.
Her summer endeavors included attending NASA’s Lift Off Summer Institute at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Space Foundation Discover Center in Colorado Springs, the Library of Congress Summer Teaching Institute in Washington, D.C., and the Lift Off Alumni Program NASA Space Grant program at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
She also participated in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum’s Teacher Innovator Institute, where she learned from other STEM experts and explored the connections between informal STEM education and authentic learning. While at the Kennedy Space Center, she learned how to use 3D printers in the classroom, experienced flight simulation, and how to share STEM concepts across the curriculum.
“I’m a big proponent of STEM education and would like to bring these concepts to the children to make the classroom come alive and make it fun to learn,” she said. “It was great to meet people from around the country and it made me grateful to be an educator in Atlantic County. I appreciate how wonderful our school system is here.”
Becker said Marino’s ability to search out opportunities to advance her own learning, will allow her to bring innovative programs to students at Ross.
Although she will continue existing social responsibility programs, Marino hopes to find other opportunities to get the students involved with their community, and work with the teaching staff on programming.
“Social-emotional learning is important, but coming out of the pandemic, it’s even more important. The school needs to be a nurturing place,” she said.
The Ross School will continue its tradition of having a theme for the school year. This year’s theme will be “Ross School Champions,” but the programs and guidelines for success are still in development, she said.
Although she doesn’t officially start until Aug. 2, Marino has been spending time familiarizing herself with the staff and helping to get the district ready for re-opening amid the COVID-19 Delta variant pandemic.
Students and staff will likely be required to wear masks and socially distance like they did last year, she said, but administrators are awaiting the final guidance from the NJ Department of Health and CDC. Last year, students were dismissed from class at 12:20 p.m., but this year, they will have a full day of classes. Administrators are currently determining how to provide lunches yet maintain social distancing guidelines, she said.
Becker said she and Marino are embarking on their new paths together, “and I feel very fortunate to have a strong, intelligent and thoughtful colleague beside me.”
Marino, 50, lives in Linwood with her husband Alex, and three children, all of whom she taught in fifth grade, Patrick, 21, a student at Stockton University; Madeline, 18, who’s headed to Syracuse University in the fall; and Mac, 16, a student at Mainland High School.
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