Washington Township BOE/Samantha Dulude
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE The Board of Education May 8 appointed a new principal for the Eugene A. Tighe Middle School. Upon the recommendation of Superintendent Audrey Becker, who will retire at the end of the school year, the board unanimously approved Samantha Dulude to replace Principal Ryan Gaskill, who will become the district's next superintendent. The appointment is effective July 1.
Becker said the district received more than 60 applications for the position before making the best choice for the district.
Administrators and teachers interviewed the top candidates.
Dulude will earn $115,000 in her new role.
We had a huge pool of candidates, Becker said. We were happy to have so many high quality candidates to choose from. It was difficult in the end to make the final choice, but we feel we made the best choice for our school and our children.
Dulude currently serves as principal of the Whitman Elementary School in Turnersville. She has worked for the Washington Township school district for more than 20 years.
She graduated from Washington Township High School and continued her education at Stockton University where she obtained a bachelor's degree in education. She also has master's degrees in Reading from Rowan University and Educational Leadership from Wilmington University.
In her biography posted on the Whitman School's website, Dulude said she has a passion for leadership, is a lifelong learner, and is committed to the staff and students at her school. She aspires to help students become critical thinkers, effective problem solvers, good communicators, and to obtain the skills required to continue their education and eventually enter the workforce.
Dulude, who was present at the meeting, received a round of applause from those in attendance.
We welcome you and look forward to working with you, Board President Joseph Pepe said.
Becker also announced that the district's two schools were recently ranked as the top schools in Atlantic County.
According to Datawrapper.de, a data visualization organization that published Atlantic County school rankings for the 2022-2023 school year, the William H. Ross School ranked first with a summative rating of 95.63 and a summative score of 87.70. Second on the list was the Tighe School, with ratings of 92.74/83.59.
We did quite well compared to other schools in Atlantic County, Becker said. We are very pleased our children are continuing to be successful and are thriving.
She credited the support administrators, teachers and staff provided for the students during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the district kept its schools open.
It's an important reflection on everything we do here, and everyone contributed to that, Becker said.
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