by Noelle Hanek
Sparta High School has a new Superintendent, Mr. Beck. Learn more about him in the interview below!
Interview date: 6/24/21
Q: Can you tell us a little about yourself?
A: Of course! I first got a bachelor's degree in criminology, and started working in juvenile detention centers for the early part of my career, where I gained experience working with children. I later decided I wanted to do more work with children so I went back to school and received a master’s degree in education. For my first teaching job I taught at East Orange for two years. I then taught at an elementary school in Fredon Township, which was quite a transition, going from an urban school to a rural one! I later taught at Morris Tech where I taught Social Studies, and also coached Girls’ Varsity Basketball and Boys’ JV Soccer. I got my first administrative job at Sussex Tech for four years, became a superintendent in Andover and then Fredon, and then here at Sparta. It was quite a journey, but hopefully this was the last stop of the journey.
Q: What made you want to start a career in education?
A: I always worked with youth, just in different capacities. Back when I worked in juvenile detention centers, I found I really liked working with youth, especially those who were at risk. I then decided to make a career out of working with children, and went into education. In fact, my girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife, went to school for education and became a teacher, and suggested I go into teaching. I decided to give it a shot and went after my certification, became a teacher, and then entered the administrative rank.
Q: What brought you to Sparta, New Jersey?
A: Sparta is an elite school district, and having the aspirations to become a superintendent of a large and successful district, I applied to work here when the opportunity arose. I currently live in Sussex county, and Sparta is the school district of Sussex county, so when I saw the opening I just knew I had to go for it.
Q: How are you liking the environment at Sparta so far?
Everybody has been so welcoming. I knew this was a successful district, but I didn’t know about the people within the district and the community. Everybody has been unbelievably welcoming and supportive, for instance by asking me if I need anything or have any questions, and they genuinely mean it. I have only been here for three weeks so far, but as I was transitioning here, everyone was so warm and welcoming and genuinely cared for my success.
Q: What is one thing students should know about you?
A: I am all about students; the reason I got into education is because I love to work with kids and never lost sight of that. When people say since I am a superintendent, I have a lot of things to think about and worry about, but all of my decisions come back to students. What is best for students? What more can we do for students? How can I support students and how can I help others support students. So one thing students should know about me is that I am all about students.
Q: What are you looking forward to most about being a superintendent?
A: I look forward most to being a part of a large and successful school community. I am very excited and have been very excited since I got here to go to all the events and see the students in action, whether it's the elementary events or high school events, or eventually when school starts back up in the fall, the sporting events, just to be immersed in the sparta community.
A big thank you to Mr. Beck for participating in this interview, it was great getting to know you!
