New principal at Rev. Brown School

SPARTA — These days there’s a great deal of discussion about the critical importance of strong math and science programs in grades K-12, and whether students in the United States are prepared to hold their own in these content areas. Dr. Catherine Duncan, the new principal of Rev. Brown School, wants to insure that K through eighth grade students have access to strong programs. One step in this direction is to give students ample opportunities to both read and write. “If you are good at reading and writing, pretty much every other academic subject comes easy to you,” Dr. Duncan said. “You have to read and write in every discipline.” Duncan has over 25 years of experience in education, having served as interim principal in several schools in Morris and Bergen counties and principal of Our Lady of Mercy School in Whippany. She has also taught graduate students at Seton Hall University and College of St. Elizabeth. In addition, she mentors new principals in the Leader 2 Leader Program. New programs The English department has introduced My Access writing program, a computer-based program for sixth- to eighth-graders to review, critique and grade their writing. A lover of classical music, Duncan says she’s happy to have a parent this year who is a graduate of the Juilliard School, Sue Chuang-Tsay, who has offered to provide string lessons to first- and second-graders. Duncan wants to see a string orchestra by next year. She noted that despite dwindling enrollments in Catholic schools around the nation, the registration at Rev. Brown increased to 541 students.