At Monday night’s Hopewell Valley Regional School District Board of Education meeting, the board accepted Assistant Superintendent Christine Laquidara’s retirement that will begin on July 1st. By that time, she will have worked 34 years as an educator.
Ms. Laquicara came to the district in 2001 as Vice Principal of Hopewell Elementary. For the next few years, her job was split with also being Vice Principal of Stony Brook Elementary and as the K-5 Math Supervisor. In 2004, she was appointed Principal of Hopewell Elementary, staying in that capacity for six years. In 2010, Ms. Laquidara become the District’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction and three years ago she was named Assistant Superintendent.
Thirty-four years ago, Ms. Laquidara began her career as a teaching assistant at a women’s prison. By the time she left, 18 years later, she was the Director of Educational Services for Corrections, where she was in charge of state prison educational programing. She also oversaw the education of state inmates held in county jails, particularly the juvenile population.
When asked about her time spent at Hopewell Valley, Ms. Laquidara said, “It has been my honor and privilege to work with the staff of this district. It has been an amazing 15+ years. The people I’ve interacted with on a daily basis are incredible human beings. The teachers truly care about the whole child. The level of caring in this district is unlike anything I’ve seen.“
For at least the first year of her retirement, she will be a stay-at-home mom to her twin five year old sons who will start Kindergarten in the fall. She is looking forward to volunteering in their school’s PTO and being more available for all of their activities. Though she is not sure where her career will ultimately take her, she thinks that she will eventually work as a mentor of new educators and administrators.
“I’ve had such an amazing professional career.”
