Glen Ridge Board Accepts Two Coaching Resignations, Launches "Capturing Kids Hearts" Program Districtwide

The Glen Ridge Board of Education accepted, with regret, the resignations of two Glen Ridge High School coaches at its October 1 meeting: varsity boys lacrosse coach Carl Houser, effective September 20, and assistant football coach Michael Tesei, effective September 17.

The board also approved a batch of routine but sizable financial reports, including bills and claims of $609,347.59, an additional $390,266.42 in payroll and other payments, and open purchase orders totaling $1,577,467.67 for the 2024-2025 school year.

The centerpiece of the evening was new Superintendent Kyle Arlington's introduction of "Capturing Kids Hearts," a social-emotional-learning and school-culture initiative now rolling out across the district's three primary schools, funded by the Glen Ridge Educational Foundation (GREF). Forest Avenue School principal Matt Murphy and Linden Avenue School principal Dr. Caravela walked the board through the program's "Engage, Explore, Communicate, Empower, Launch" framework; Central School principal Dr. Harris, unable to attend in person, sent a video presentation instead. All staff completed training in August, leadership teams will next go through "Process Champions" training, and even custodial, maintenance and transportation staff will be trained through a companion "Culture Shapers" program so that the whole school community is included. Dr. Caravela recalled that some of the teachers who had complained the most about giving up two days of summer for training approached her in tears of gratitude on the very first morning, and Murphy described a teacher moved to tears by a handwritten note of appreciation he'd left her. Each month the program highlights a different character trait; October's was switched from "responsibility" to "respect" so it would align with New Jersey's Week of Respect.

The board thanked the Glen Ridge Environmental Advisory Committee, along with Amanda McCabe and Polly Murphy, for donating soil conditioner, butterfly-weed plants, paint markers and equipment for a new pollinator garden at Ridgewood Avenue School, and accepted a combined $1,050 donation — $350 each — from the Forest Avenue, Linden Avenue and Central School Home and School Associations to cover catering for the August Capturing Kids Hearts training day.

During public comment, resident Charlie Breslin, who has one child in the district and one who has graduated, pressed the board on the role of the student representative, now in its third year, asking whether the position amounts to little more than reciting good news the public already knows from social media, or whether the student is genuinely empowered to tell the board what students are feeling. Board members responded that the student representative faces no restrictions on what she can raise and is trusted to bring forward whatever she feels is important, and floated ideas already under discussion — coaching for the student rep, having the communications committee meet regularly with a small student group including members of the school's student leadership program, and folding student voices into the board's upcoming conversation about cell phone policy. Board President Elisabeth Ginsburg added that she had just come from a contentious three-and-a-half-hour hearing in Trenton the day before, where high school students who waited the entire session to speak stood before a state senate panel and argued eloquently for free access to library materials, calling it proof of the power of student voice. Resident Fran Wong followed up, noting that during last year's strategic planning process two student representatives spoke freely in front of their own teachers and that some of their suggestions were ultimately adopted.

In committee and liaison reports, student representative Maggie De La Fuente described a club fair that drew more than 40 clubs and a voter-registration table that signed up roughly 20 seniors, along with strong showings from the football, boys soccer and girls soccer and volleyball teams, an upcoming homecoming dance on October 18, and college visits to schools including Vanderbilt, the University of Vermont, Syracuse and Villanova. The Glen Ridge Educational Foundation reported that its returning slate of trustees and officers was re-elected at its annual meeting and reminded the board of its upcoming Ashenfelter Race fundraiser, for which it is seeking family and corporate sponsors. Home and School Association liaisons rounded up a busy fall calendar across the schools — book fairs, a Halloween costume drive at Forest Avenue partnering with New Jersey Cares, a fall movie night at Freeman Gardens, a mum sale at Linden Avenue, and school pictures — while the Glen Ridge Visual Arts Association said it is seeking new members and parent volunteers and the Gas Lamp Players said rehearsals are underway for a fall show opening November 22. Board member Duval Graham was congratulated after being named one of the chairs for Project Graduation 2025.

The board also gave second reading approval to revised policies covering board member terms, curriculum content, service animals, student suicide prevention, emergency and crisis situations, firearms and weapons, and volunteer athletic coaches, and approved a sidebar agreement with the Glen Ridge Education Association and a five-year collaborative services agreement with the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey running from July 2025 through June 2030.

Action items

• Accepted the resignations of Carl Houser (varsity boys lacrosse coach) and Michael Tesei (assistant football coach), both at Glen Ridge High School.
• Approved bills and claims of $609,347.59, additional payments of $390,266.42, and open purchase orders of $1,577,467.67 for 2024-2025.
• Approved second reading of revised policies on board member terms, curriculum content, service animals, student suicide prevention, emergency and crisis situations, firearms and weapons, and volunteer athletic coaches.
• Accepted donations for a pollinator garden at Ridgewood Avenue School and a combined $1,050 from three Home and School Associations for Capturing Kids Hearts training.
• Approved the 2025-2026 school calendar and building hours of operation.
• Approved a sidebar agreement with the Glen Ridge Education Association.
• Approved a five-year (2025-2030) collaborative educational services agreement with the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey.
• Approved field trips including a French Club trip to Paris, Provence and Nice and a Girls Who Code visit to Bank of America's New York headquarters.

Watch key moments

• 17:26 — Linden Avenue principal Dr. Caravela recalls skeptical teachers hugging her the first morning of "Capturing Kids Hearts" training to thank her.
• 45:35 — Resident Charlie Breslin presses the board on whether the student representative is truly empowered to share what students are feeling, or just reciting good news.
• 47:39 — Board President Ginsburg, recalling a Trenton hearing she'd attended the day before, describes high school students speaking eloquently to a state senate panel in defense of library access.