Title: Elementary Principal
Company: Kelly Elementary School
Location: West Orange, New Jersey, United States
Dr. Joanne Pollara, Principal at Kelly Elementary School, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Educators for dedication, achievements, and leadership in Special Education.
After many years as a consultant and supervisor of learning disabled and special education in West Orange, Dr. Pollara became principal of Kelly Elementary in 2009, and looks back on 41 years of helping students excel in the face of challenge. She always had a love of learning, and was inspired by her own teachers. Dr. Pollara recalls one of her special education students who transitioned into general education, and invited Dr. Pollara to her high school and college graduations. Dr. Pollara was proud to have been her teacher, and she learned a lot from the student as well.
True to her passion, Dr. Pollara wanted to facilitate learning for all students, and initially studied with St. Joseph’s College before entering the profession as a fourth grade teacher at the Holy Trinity Elementary School in Hackensack, New Jersey. She entered special education with the Kessler School for Rehabilitation in 1978 and taught through 1986, when she became a special education institute aid with the West Orange Board of Education. Dr. Pollara taught for many years with the Redwood Elementary school in West Orange, moving on in 1997 as a consultant. In 2005 she became special education supervisor for West Orange Public Schools and in 2009 she became principal of Kelly Elementary.
Dr. Pollara earned an MA form Montclair State University in 1994, and an EdD with the College of Saint Elizabeth in 2012. She is a professionally recognized special educator by the state of New Jersey, and has contributed to a number of committees in the township of West Orange, in addition to the Council for Exceptional Children, the Council for Educational Diagnostic Services, the Association of Learning Consultants, and the honor society Phi Kappa Phi. One of her achievements was facilitating a video conference for her students with the astronaut Scott Kelly while he was on the International Space Station. Dr. Pollara has also been a religious educator with Our Lady of Lourdes Church and the Notre Dame Church in North Caldwell, New Jersey, as well as a leader with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America. She is the proud mother of Angela and Joshua, and in her free time she enjoys reading, piano and guitar music, as well as swimming.
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