MANCHESTER – As the school year began, students and parents saw familiar faces in new positions – as well as a few recent hires.
The Manchester Times recently spoke with new Early Childhood Education Administrator Michelle Nichol about her role in the district and some initiatives that she will be bringing to that position.
“I’ve been in the district for 23 years now. I started my career here and never left. I started at Whiting Elementary School and taught kindergarten, first and second grade. I taught at Manchester Township Elementary School, kindergarten and then I transitioned into literacy coach between Ridgeway School and Whiting School,” Nichol said.
When an elementary supervisory position opened up, she went for it and has been in a supervisor position for 11 years. “Most of those years I was in kindergarten through grade 5 and had the pleasure of coming to the Middle School two years ago and experience the middle school world which is great.”
“Then the following year I went back to elementary but took on the role of pre-school as well. We have the universal pre-school expansion aid in Manchester which is a wonderful for our community and our kids. I took on the role of overseeing that program along with the pre-school team but I still oversee the elementary school aspect as well,” she added.
Nichol noted, “it is great because I get to see the transition: overseeing the kids that are in our pre-school program are leaving and going into kindergarten with the appropriate skills needed for them to be successful.”
Superintendent Diane Pedroza commended Nichol’s past work with the district that will provide a lot of experience in this role making it a seemingly perfect fit.
“She is uniquely qualified,” the superintendent said. “Although most of her experience more recently has been language arts related, she does see the big picture. When she went to middle school, it was with the idea that she could bridge that gap. We have three elementary schools feeding into the middle school and we want to make sure there is consistency and make sure there is foundational skills.”
Pedroza said Nichol was “very involved in those transitioning meetings. Michelle is a natural because her involvement at the middle school allowed her to see the transition and her very strong background lent itself very well with overseeing pre-school.”
“We have a lot of initiatives involved in both of my worlds. For pre-school in particular we are opening up two brand new classrooms and have expanded our program with 19 pre-school classrooms within our district at all three of our elementary schools,” Nichol said.
“It is wonderful because most of our pre-school students start at 3 or 4 in the school that they will go to kindergarten. We try to keep our schools in there. Our approach really is rooted in exploration, play-based learning where kids can socialize and build those social/emotional skills but the amount of teaching and learning that happens through that process is really amazing,” she added.
Nichol noted, “literacy is a great focus in our early childhood years so we’ve incorporated that into our pre-school program. We use the same terminology and expose the kids to the same kind of visuals that they will see in kindergarten and we encourage a lot of communication so that they develop vocabulary.”
The school district also welcomed Christopher Hoffman as Assistant Principal /Athletic Director at Manchester Township High School this school year. Hoffman brings more than 23 years of experience in public education, with a diverse background as a teacher, coach, and student advocate.
Hoffman started his career as a 7th-grade English teacher at Toms River Intermediate East, where he developed a passion for student engagement and academic excellence.
He recently served at Middletown High School North as a teacher of Special Class Programs, working with students in Multiple Disabilities, Behavioral Disabilities, and Learning and Language Disabilities settings. His work in special education highlights his commitment to inclusive education and supporting the unique needs of all learners.
In addition to his teaching and leadership roles, he was an accomplished coach, serving as both the Head Varsity Girls Softball Coach and Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach at Middletown North. His coaching philosophy emphasizes teamwork, perseverance, and personal growth, all values he brings with him to Manchester’s athletic and academic communities.
Hoffman said he was excited to serve as Assistant Principal and Athletic Director and was looking forward to strengthening the high school’s academic culture and athletic programs while promoting school spirit and student success.
He added that he also looks forward to collaborating with staff, students, families, and coaches to uphold the district’s mission of excellence by example.
