More turmoil and turnover at the helm of Paterson's JFK High School as principal resigns
PATERSON — Jorge Osoria, the principal at Paterson’s John F. Kennedy High School, resigned last week to take a better-paying position in Bergen County.
Osoria is leaving his $153,103 Paterson job at the end of this academic year to become principal at Dwight Morrow High School at a salary of $174,300, public records show.
Osoria’s announced departure marks the latest development in a turbulent 18 months for Kennedy — where Paterson Public Schools has been using a team of two administrators sharing responsibilities in the principal’s office.
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In December 2022, after a multiple-gun incident at Kennedy, the district suspended the principal of operations, Michael Hill, for the rest of that school year, leaving Osoria to handle both jobs. After Hill was reassigned last summer, district officials appointed Zatiti Moody to take his place.
But Moody was not happy about the new assignment and went on leave without ever reporting for work at Kennedy, once again putting all the duties in Osoria’s hands. Moody also recently resigned to take a job as principal at a charter school.
In his May 9 letter to Kennedy staff members, Osoria took aim at the district’s administration.
“Over the past nine months,” he wrote, “I have encountered significant challenges due to a lack of communication and support from central office and the superintendent’s office. Despite our best effort, the persistent obstacles have hindered our ability to fully realize our vision for the school.”
Says superintendent rarely responsive
In an interview on Monday morning, Osoria said Superintendent Laurie Newell and other district administrators rarely responded to his inquiries and directed him to change some practices at Kennedy in the middle of the school year — which he said undermined his ability to run the school. He also questioned why Newell assigned Moody to Kennedy knowing that Moody would not embrace the transfer.
“It created a toxic situation,” Osoria said.
The district’s spokesperson said Newell wished Osoria well in his next job and thanked him for his service in Paterson.
In response to Osoria’s criticism of the superintendent, district officials said Newell and her deputy superintendent, Rodney Henderson, have made several visits to Kennedy, as has one of Paterson’s assistant superintendents, who they say has been at the school 11 times.
“Considering this, it was a surprise to see the accusations of a lack of communication and support from Central Office,” the spokesperson said. “One of the reasons for the restructuring of schools’ administration on the district level was to provide an efficient, open and reliable channel of communications — something that the assistant superintendent has been fully committed to and diligent in her efforts as Mr. Osoria’s immediate supervisor.”
Osoria worked for Paterson Public Schools since 2007, first as a teacher, before becoming Kennedy’s vice principal in 2010. He was made JFK’s principal of instruction in 2021.
“That’s something I never wanted to happen,” Osoria said of his resignation.
Grace Giglio, president of the Paterson principals’ union, said Newell has had a much different management style from her predecessor, Eileen Shafer. Giglio said Shafer had open communications with principals, but Newell does not.
“She does not communicate with me,” Giglio said.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Principal resigns at Paterson's JFK High School
