Brigitta Acton:
CLASS OF 1969
St. Aloysius SchoolClass of 1969
Caldwell, NJ
William Paterson UniversityClass of 1977
Wayne, NJ
West Virginia UniversityClass of 1974
Morgantown, WV
James Caldwell High SchoolClass of 1973
West caldwell, NJ
Grover Cleveland Junior High SchoolClass of 1970
Caldwell, NJ
Brigitta's Story
School
I began my school career at Roosevelt School in West Caldwell. I attended Kindergarten here for just the one year and then transferred to St. Aloysious School for grades 1-8. Those 8 years were wonderful since we were so protected and sheltered. I always felt like I was with family during those years. Everyone knew everyone and those were the years when there were 45 kids in a classroom! As a teacher myself these days, I don't know how the nuns did it!! (Tranquilizers? Lots of prayer??) After 8th grade, public school students attended Grover Cleveland Jr. HS for one year, then we transferred to James Caldwell HS. Those were years of easy times and classes, lenient teachers and school administrators, hanging out at Friendlys, driving around with friends around town when gas was 37 cents/gallon, and attending lots of concerts at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic and Madison Sq. Garden! I really don't remember studying AT ALL! My high school years really seemed to live up to our school's reputation of a country club. What a shame in retrospect, but, boy, it sure was fun while we were living those times!
College
While I did graduate from William Paterson in 1977, I completed my freshman year at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. Southern living was just not for me, so I transferred north thinking I would take a few classes at Paterson and then transfer somewhere else. It was easier just to stay put, so that's where I graduated. I also completed a Master's Degree in Health Education from New York University in 1989. Going to school at NYU was definitely a highlight of my educational experience....the professors, the location (NYC), and the people I met were amazing. I'm sorry I didn't transfer there as a sophomore while in college. I've thought many times about going back for my Ph.D, but can't make up my mind as to what to what I'd like to study! I know there's still lots of time to decide, so check back in a few years and see where I am!
Workplace
At present, I am a teacher for the Hackettstown Board of Education and have been there since 1994. I'm a teacher of kids with learning disabilities, currently housed at Willow Grove School, but I have...Expand for more
taught grades K - 7 since joining the district. I started out teaching at the Middle School, and then transferred over to the elementary level after 3 years. I absolutely love what I do! While there are days that I wonder if I'm ever getting through to some of the kids that I work with, there are other times when a child who has struggled with recognizing letters or numbers in Kindergarden is now doing grade level work with minimal assistance! You can't put into words how great that makes you feel - i.e., seeing the progress that kids can make. Coming home at the end of the day makes me feel like at least I'm making a contribution to the world in some small way. I hope I'm the teacher that some child remembers after he or she grows up!
Prior to working at Hackettstown, I worked at the University of Medicine & Dentistry in Piscataway as a trainer/conference organizer for staff working with children and adults with disabilities. The hour and 15 minute commute was a killer, so driving 10 minutes to work these days is a breeze compared to that!
Prior to working at the University, I also worked for The New Jersey Division of Developmental Disabilities as a Program Consultant for adult programs, Planned Parenthood of Northwest NJ as a Health Educator and the Newton Board of Ed teaching emotionally disturbed high school students. You can only do that in your 20's when you think you can take on the world! Needless to say, that line of work was incredibly stressful and tiring, so that's when I took some time off to get my graduate degree at NYU. I also felt it was time to leave when one of my students told me he was going to blow up my car and told me exactly how he was going to do it! Somehow, traveling the NYC subways at 10 p after evening classes never seemed quite as dangerous after that job!!
My whole work career has focused on working with children and adults with disabilites in one form or another. In retrospect, I would not change a thing. I've learned so many things from each and every job I've ever had. I truly feel blessed to have had such a wonderful career in teaching and human services thus far. Who knows what the future holds after Hackettstown!!
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