I am writing to you today to express my endorsement for Ms. Karen Moffatt to be elevated to Principal of the Herbert N. Richardson 21st Century Elementary School. My name is Danielle Harris Lacasale and over the last year, Ms. Moffatt has been my direct supervisor while working two separate long term substituting positions at Richardson School.

Having once served as a principal, I feel I have a good understanding of what the position entails and the leadership qualities needed to positively motivate parents, students and staff to strive for excellence on a daily basis. Over the last 130+ days I have directly watched Ms. Moffatt directly engage with students during their morning drop off, at lunch – being present for all three seatings and during a very organized dismissal process. (Ms. Moffatt and staff recently adjusted the afternoon dismissal for inclement weather days and to their credit, the collaborative process was one that brought out the best in safety and an efficient use of time.)

I have never observed Ms. Moffatt not embrace a new idea. I actually have observed her encourage staff, parents and students to bring her suggestions to make the school a true community of scholars that bring out the best in each other. Richardson is a wonderful environment to be in that during the interim of my long term assignments, I was board approved to volunteer in the school, as the positive vibes coming from the school certainly rub off.

Ms. Moffatt starts the school day with her co-DJ (a chosen student) on the school intercom, welcoming staff and students to a new learning opportunity. She regularly praises the students who have made strides in the forms of student of the month, vocabulary work wizard or for their birthday. She is the first and last voice the students hear upon entering and exiting the building. She is regularly present in classrooms casually conducting a walk through and has a keen sense of remembering all 780+ students at Richardson.

She is a visible leader, one that does not hide being emails and memos, but one that communicates regularly with staff directly and personally about manners pertaining to their performance, their classroom or any other issue that needs to be discussed. She arrives to school regularly approximately 2 hours before the instructional day begins and frequently stays far beyond 5pm to complete work that needs to be complete. (Throughout the present school year, I do not recall her being absent once.)

Her passion and dedication for the position shines through her mannerisms with the families of Richardson School. She attends PTO meetings, Friday night activities, swim meets and sporting events connected to the students of Richardson School. Although not of Spanish decent or origin, Ms. Moffatt has personally taken up the mission of learning as much of the Spanish dialect as possible. This decision has afforded her another avenue of communication with the families and students.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Leadership is the art of getting others to do something that you want done because they want to do it.”

I feel this is a true summary of Karen Moffatt. When she arrived at Richardson, the school was a successful one, but as it is said, the sky’s the limit. During Karen’s time at Richardson, she has only made the school better by modeling good relations with people, by assisting with instructional practices that drive higher test scores and by focusing on the child as a whole, rather than on a disability, or demeanor and pre-conceived notion from a prior school year. Karen made the staff think differently which brought about excellence and success.

As you know Ms. Moffatt has in essence been a principal without the title. She has proven herself a dedicated employee to the students of Perth Amboy through her 22+ years of service and dedication, working very hard to get to the level she is currently at. It would behoove me to think that an individual, who has been serving in the role of school leader without the title attributed to the position, should simply be granted the title to make their efforts official.

Knowing the job of a school leader, it appears that Ms. Moffatt is serving as the Vice Principal, handling discipline, observations, budgeting, staff evaluations and parent relations which are roles usually shared amongst the school principal and vice principal. Serving in two roles cannot be easy, but when watching Ms. Moffatt conduct herself, it is amazing what she can balance in the course of one school day.

I am requesting your sincere consideration in elevating Karen Moffatt to become the next principal of Herbert N. Richardson 21st Century School. Her capabilities are limitless, her personality flexible and her knowledge extensive – all qualities that would benefit the stability of Richardson School and the Perth Amboy Board of Education, at large. Feel free to contact me further, should you have any questions or would further like to discuss Karen’s qualifications in more detail. I can be reached at 848- 229-5471 or daniharris-lacasale@paps.net.

Many thanks.
Sincerely yours,

– Danielle Harris Lacasale, Ed.S.