July 24, 2024

Dear Parents/Guardians:

I am honored to introduce myself to you as the 2024-2025 Ridge Elementary School Interim Principal. I am looking forward to getting to know you all better and hope you will be able to attend my first Meet and Greet event, which will take place at Ridge Elementary School on Wednesday, August 7th at 1:00 pm in the Ridge gymnasium. In the meantime, I would like to share a little bit about my experience as an educator.

I began my career in education as a high school mathematics teacher at Chatham High School and as a middle school mathematics teacher in the Summer Session program at Newark Academy in Livingston. My administrative experience began with the roles of Director of Gifted and Talented Programs and K-12 Supervisor of STEM education in the Mountain Lakes School District. During that time, I was greatly inspired by elementary education and found the opportunity and expectation for elementary educators to ensure a strong foundation in all content areas to be extremely powerful and important work. As a Director of Gifted and Talented programs, I was able to educate teachers on how to personalize instruction for all learners and empower them to increase student-choice in their instruction. I also worked directly with fourth and fifth grade students as the advisor for Math Olympiads and the International Academic Competitions. I am fortunate that my current role as middle school Assistant Principal has included observing lessons in the elementary schools and working closely with counselors, Child Study Teams, and principals on transitioning students from fifth to sixth grade.

I am truly looking forward to serving the Ridgewood Public Schools in this new capacity. I will be working closely with our 12-month employees during the month of August to ensure our building is ready to welcome new and returning students in September. I hope to meet many of you at our Meet and Greet event and/or Back to School Night, which will take place on September 10th at 6:30pm.

Yours truly,

Dr. Michelle Melucci

2024-2025 Interim Principal

Ridge Elementary School