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Meet the Supervisor: Elizabeth Veneziano, English/Language Arts, 6-12

"Meet the Supervisor" is a continuing series of articles to introduce the West Orange Community to the Supervisors that oversee various subject areas in the Elementary, Middle, and High Schools of the West Orange Public School District.  

 
 WEST ORANGE, NJ - Liz Veneziano is the West Orange School District’s newly-appointed English Language Arts Supervisor for Grades 6-12. The next few months will be an orientation process for the long-time teacher and administrator, who holds a BS from Montclair University in Secondary Education-English, a Master’s Degree in Education and Administration, and Principal and Superintendent Certifications.

 

Prior to accepting the position in the West Orange School District, Veneziano was Director of Curriculum and Testing Coordinator for four years in the Montclair Public School District. She began teaching in 1998 and moved into administration in 2005. She also served as an Assistant Principal in Midland Park and as an Administrator in Emerson, working not only with diverse student populations but staff as well.

 

“Getting to know the teachers and the schools, getting their input and seeing how everything works will be some of my initial goals,” Veneziano said.

 

“It’s also critical that we build on the core curriculum of the K-5 ELA program,” she continued.

 

Veneziano’s multi-pronged responsibilities will include oversight of the district’s middle and high school ELA teachers; writing and reviewing curriculum (maintaining compliance with core curriculum standards), teacher evaluations, monitoring test scores and student progress. She will also travel to Edison, Liberty and Roosevelt Middle Schools for evaluations, department meetings, and more. Her office is located in the Library Media Center at West Orange High School.

 

Born and raised in Nutley, Veneziano grew up in a home where her Dad, Guy Tiene, was a legendary teacher in the Nutley School District for forty years.

 

“Dad’s students were always stopping by,” she said. “It was common to hear a knock on the door to see one of his students, even many who were in college, stop by and talk with him."

 

Veneziano currently resides in Belleville with her husband Mike and her four-year-old daughter Nina.

 

As a former Testing Coordinator, Veneziano is well-versed in PARCC and feels that while the implementation and timing of PARCC were problematic, she said, “It’s still an improvement from NJ Ask…I always felt as a teacher that I had to stop teaching to review for NJ Ask because the questions were not always aligned with what the students were learning.  Now, administrators can pretty much look at a PARCC question and know what part of the common core it’s aligned to.”

 

Veneziano is excited about the opportunity to focus her work on “supporting and helping the teachers.” “I know how much it has helped me to become a better teacher and administrator with that help and support,” she noted, “and I’m looking forward to being able to work with the teachers. I’ve heard such good things about West Orange.”

 

When asked why she is passionate about ELA, Veneziano thought for a moment and said, “ELA is literacy. Reading, writing and comprehension are foundational skills that help students to succeed throughout their lives.”

 
ELA Supervisor 6-12 Elizabeth Veneziano  

 ELA 6-12 Supervisor Elizabeth Veneziano.

 

Cynthia Cumming