Mr. Joseph Ferrara, one of the assistant principals of Edison High, has had a long journey and career in education. He comes to the Boulevard of the Eagles every day with determination to help and empower teachers, staff, and students. Beginning his career as a basketball coach, Ferrara’s love for teaching and working with his team developed an interest in becoming a teacher.
Interestingly, that almost never happened. Ferrara had obtained a business degree and intended to become an accountant.
“I originally had a business degree and I actually had a job lined up, and during the interview the person interviewing me told me, ‘You know, Joe, you’re not gonna be able to coach anymore once you take this job,’” said Ferrara.
Eventually, Ferrara’s love for teaching influenced him to switch his degree and pursue a career in education: “I became a substitute teacher and then pursued my academic classes for teaching and started teaching that next year, and here we are, thirty-one years later.”
With his responsibilities, Ferrara’s schedule is quite busy, making sure the school is functioning properly and students are in their classes. He usually arrives at school between 6:40 a.m. to 6:45 a.m., drinks his cup of tea or coffee, and checks his schedule to see what teachers he’ll be observing. In addition, he checks students’ grades and consults with them if their grades are poor. He’ll do routine check-ins with them, and set up tutoring sessions or additional assistance if needed.
In addition to these responsibilities, Ferrara consistently meets with Principal Charles Ross and the other assistant principals to discuss events in the week such as class meetings, assemblies, and special visitors.
Ferrara is also in charge of coordinating safety and security drills, and meets with the nurse in coming up with scenarios of a potential medical emergency. These tasks can become challenging at times, but he conceded that when working at a school with 2,400 students and over 250 staff members.
A leader in the community, he stresses the importance of communication and understanding when working with a team.
“We have to have good communication and good collaboration in order for the school to run smoothly,” he said.
Ferrara and the school administrators hold frequent faculty meetings and meet with the heads of multiple departments of the school, such as the science, history, and math departments to give feedback to teachers and learn what’s happening in those departments.
Since arriving at Edison High in 2010, Ferrara has found great joy in working with teachers and students and finding ways to improve their experience.
“The most rewarding thing is really just, you know, my interactions with students and with teachers,” Ferrara said. “Just being able to help teachers out in any way that I can,” said Ferrara.
This mindset is what motivates him everyday, helping institute professional development and growth in teachers and giving all the resources to the young men and women of Edison High to set them up for success later in life.
Ferrara also believes school plays a fundamental role in society and in shaping the lives of students. He believes Edison High’s culture of athletic events, concerts with the orchestra and choir performances help empower students on a personal level and allow them to express themselves.
He has kids that are also in high school, and while he can’t be at every event at EHS, he always tries to make time for them.
“I like to make myself available to not just my junior class, but the entire Edison High School population,” said Ferrara.
To those who seek to make an impact, Ferrara has some valuable advice to share.
“Be genuine and always try to do things that can help people out,” he said. He implores students to be kind to others, be a good person, and help others when they are in need.
“Always be there,” said Ferrara, “and be able and be willing to help out whenever you have the opportunity to.”