As our school district entered the 2024-25 school year, we have welcomed new faces to our staff. Mr. Gary Lubisco is one of our newest additions as the new superintendent! I had the opportunity to sit down and learn more about him and his visions for our school district.
Mr. Lubisco grew up in Millburn, New Jersey, about a half hour away from Somerville, and graduated from Millburn High School. He attended undergraduate school at Susquehanna in Pennsylvania, majoring in History. His first job in education was in Dunellen, where he taught and coached. He then returned to Kean University to obtain his Master’s in Educational Leadership and became the assistant principal at Dunellen High School. Determined to finish his Master’s, he took night classes so as not to interfere with his teaching, but still further his education. During COVID, he began an online doctoral program through Rowan University and is currently working on completing his dissertation.
When I asked Mr. Lubisco about his journey to becoming a superintendent, he recalled that his passion has always been helping kids and making a difference. Being an administrator had always been an interest for him and it grew while he pursued his Master’s.
After he became an assistant principal he explained “I kind of caught the bug there and loved it and sought to become principal…”. When an opportunity arose to become principal at Dunellen Elementary School, it jump-started his administrative journey and he worked there for 5 years. Still, Mr. Lubisco was itching to make a greater impact and began searching for possible superintendencies in the area. An opportunity arose at Manchester Regional in Haledon and he had a “wonderful” time as a superintendent there for four years. He missed the K-12 experience and fell in love with Somerville. He told me Somerville is a “tight-knit community, active community that supports and loves their schools”.
When asked about plans for the Somerville school district, Mr. Lubisco explained to me, “We have one [a plan] that is expiring and by bringing people together we can build another one that will encompass all those hopes and dreams of everybody.”
First, he wants to maximize the educational opportunities for students. He strongly believes, “a student shouldn’t graduate from Somerville and just have to go to work, community college, or the trades. They should have a choice based upon their passions of what they want to do.” It is important to build a system beginning in Pre-K to ensure students are exposed to a “menu of opportunities” as he called it. This way, once students start planning for life after 12th grade, they can choose a plan that reflects their passions.
Secondly, he wants to cultivate solutions to students’ social and emotional needs. Post-COVID-19, there have been many setbacks in mental health in children and teens. Mr. Lubisco believes that everyone’s mental health should be supported and advocated for.
Lastly, he wants to expose students to extracurriculars. He agrees that Somerville has already done a great job offering a variety of different activities. Being in extracurriculars benefits students through the social components of being a part of a group and certain leadership skills that can be obtained.
In his free time, you can find him spending as much time as possible with his family. He has two kids who play many sports so he tries to be involved in them. His family especially enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, or down at the beach!
Mr. Lubisco is very excited to get to know more about the community and work with others to strengthen his plan. Overall, he is a great new addition to our school district!