'Rock star' Edward Aldarelli unanimously appointed Edison's new school superintendent
EDISON - After a four-month search, the board of education did not have to go far to find a new permanent superintendent of schools.The school board voted unanimously on Thursday to appoint Acting Superintendent Edward Aldarelli as permanent superintendent.
Three other candidates had made it to the final interview round, a four-hour session which took place during the meeting's closed session. All were strong candidates, the board said, but in the end, they were united in choosing Aldarelli to lead the district.
Aldarelli's contract has to be approved by the Middlesex County superintendent of schools.
The Edison school district serves more than 16,000 K-12 students in 17 schools, including two high, four middle, nine elementary, one intermediate and one primary. There also are two pre-schools in the district.
Aldarelli has been Edison’s acting superintendent of schools since Dec. 1 when Bernard Bragen left to become the superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools in Virginia.
More: Edison BOE appoints acting superintendent of schools
In March, the board hired Strategic Educational Advantage (SEA) to vet superintendent candidates at a cost of $22,900.
"The candidates we interviewed were really very, very, very good," Board of Education member Biral Patel said. "So the job the search committee did is really awesome − I know it took hours and hours − very good big decision making. But we have a person that already is a rock star for six months now. There was no doubt that he would not be a person to continue for this job. And I am 100% supporting of Dr. Aldarelli."
"We finally got the right guy," said Board Vice President Joseph Romano.
Aldarelli, who came to the district in 2020 as Director of Human Resources, said he was “overwhelmed.”
"First of all, I want to thank the Board for trusting me in stewarding their vision they have for this entire district, the responsibility we have to our students, to our staff, our community members, our stakeholders," Aldarelli said. "I couldn't have been successful at this point without an unbelievable team that I have behind me. And I promise that I will do my best to deliver the highest level of education that this community deserves. I look forward to partnering with all of our teachers, our community members, and everybody in a shared vision. We can only do great things together. Words can't capture how I feel right now − so I greatly appreciate this."
Previously Aldarelli served as an elementary school principal for West Freehold School for 13 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in History and Education and master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Monmouth University in 1996 and 2002, respectively. He completed his doctorate in Education from Saint Peter's University in 2017.
email: cmakin@gannettnj.com
Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Edward Aldarelli will be Edison's next school superintendent
