Schools

For Central's New Principal, Class is In

Janet Milita meets with Mary Lou Cebula before taking the helm at school.

The classrooms are empty, and the walls in the principal's office are bare, as long-time Central School Principal Mary Lou Cebula ends her career in education.

But before she goes, she has one final student: her replacement, Janet Milita, of Annandale.

Milita was hired Monday by the Board of Education, scheduled to begin Aug. 29 at the end of her current contract with the Hope Township School District, in Warren County. Milita may be released from her current contract before then, if approved by the Hope Township Board of Education.

Find out what's happening in Warrenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Milita has been principal at the pre-K through eighth-grade school for four years. The one-school district serves about 210 students, and has been recognized as a "High Performing School District" by the state Department of Education.

"At Hope, I wore a million hats; here, I can focus on the administrative and leadership functions (as principal)," she said.

Find out what's happening in Warrenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Milita had spent a morning at the school during the final stage of interviews for the position, but she noted she'll need some "cheat sheets" to find her way around among the staff and hallways when school starts in the fall.

As for what she looks forward to in working in Warren, she noted the school's additional enrollment and implementing the district's Innovation and Design curriculum.

"It's a great time to be involved," she said. Her background is in curriculum planning, and she looks forward to helping to work on the district's move to the 21st Century Learning standards, of which she said the Innovation and design program is "exactly what these standards are seeking."

As Dr. Cebula reviewed staff lists and computer logons and other systems with her Thursday morning, Milita noted the challenges facing anyone moving into the principl' office.

"I like to be very involved, and it sounds like (Dr. Cebula) was very involved with the kids," she said. 

Milita is married to an attorney, and has a grown daughter.


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