Meet 2022 Hudson County ESP of the Year Joanne Burti Seitz
Thirty-two years ago, Joanne Burti Seitz was a young widow with two small children. She needed a job with a schedule that would allow her to care for her children.
“I started working at the free preschool at the library in town because I couldn’t afford private preschool,” Seitz remembered. “I became friends with the teacher, and I worked with her for several years, but my mother urged me to get a permanent job that would secure my future with benefits and a pension.”
Seitz was hired in Bayonne, where she lived, to work with an elementary school principal who was unaware that he was getting a new secretary.
“The principal didn’t know I was the new secretary because his secretary got transferred,” Seitz said. “He told me, ‘If you’re a shrinking violet, feel free to ask the superintendent for a transfer.’ But I have never had a boss I didn’t adore, respect or learn to love. And I was fortunate enough to be able to read all their handwriting when others could not. So, apparently, I was meant to do this!”
After 10 years at the elementary level, Seitz moved to the high school for 10 years. Then she moved back to the elementary level and has been there ever since.
“I love what I do,” Seitz said. “I have 740 kids and 200 adults, and it’s just me and my two bosses in the office. I have a strong connection with the principal and vice principal. We worship the quicksand each other walks on!”
Fast-paced days
Seitz loves her fast-paced days. She, like many of her colleagues, comes in early to get a jump on her day.
“What I love about my day is that I blink, and it’s time to go home,” Seitz said. “I come in at 7:30 even though my hours start at 8. I pull up the attendance and see who will be out. We have to make sure everything is covered, and coming in early helps me get a handle on that.”
Seitz has adapted to every new policy, procedure and technological change over her long career, but some things are evergreen. She is also in charge of the pretzel money and runs the hot dog sales on half days.
“People do not realize the craziness,” Seitz laughed. “Every day is different. A rainy day can cause havoc. When we have to fit in fire drills and other things—it has a ripple effect on the day.”
A resource for parents
Seitz is also a personal resource for parents in her diverse community, many of whom are not comfortable navigating the school’s website or email system.
“I had people call my house on Sunday mornings during COVID because they needed information about their kids’ internet access or device issues,” Seitz said. “You get to know your families really well.”
Seitz now has five children—two with her first husband who passed away, two more with a second husband who has also passed, and a stepson with her third husband. She has six grandchildren.
She brings her same loving energy to her school and her family. She fully embraces her boss’s motto: The sun is always shining, and I’m grateful to work in an office where a dance party just might break out during the morning announcements.
“It’s amazing and awesome to be named the 2022 Hudson County ESP of the Year,” Seitz said. “So many people wish for the end of the school year or retirement. And you just don’t realize that it’s going to come; it’s what you do in the middle that matters. Just come in and do the best that you can for the day. Don’t worry about anything else. Don’t worry about standardized testing, SGOs and PDPs. Just come in and do the best that you can do.”