Red Bank Regional School Board VP Emily Doherty (second from left) was recently recognized by the New Jersey School Boards Association for 30 years of service to the school district. She’s pictured here with RBR School Board President John Garofalo, NJSBA Field Representative Kathy Winecoff, and RBR Superintendent Dr. Jim Stefankiewicz. 

Press release from Red Bank Regional High School

Red Bank Regional (RBR) School Board Vice President  and Red Bank resident Emily Doherty was recently commended by the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) for her 30 years of service to the school district’s Board of Education.  NJSBA Field Representative Kathy Winecoff presented Mrs. Doherty with a plaque at a recent RBR School Board meeting.

Ms. Winecoff expressed that it is very rare to find a school board member with such a long history of service, especially when weighing the amount of pay for the heavy work load.  Board of Education members earn nothing, and receive no benefits for their service to their community.

Mrs. Doherty responded, “It has been thirty years of pleasure…(and) it is a sincere pleasure to be a part of a Board whose members respect one another and put kids first.”

Mrs. Doherty, who was first elected to the RBR Board in 1983, added that she was most happy to watch the academic and artistic growth of the school district from the establishment of the Visual & Performing Arts Academy — a facility of which she was a founding board member thirty years ago. She has served as the VPA’s President and Vice President during that time, and has been a strong supporter of RBR’s School Based Youth Service Program – The SOURCE.

Mrs. Doherty, a long-time educator, received her Masters of Arts in Teaching from Wesleyan Universityand began her teaching career in the Connecticut public school system. For many years, she taught Life Science at Bayshore Middle School for the Middletown School District. She also taught French at Oak Hill Academy, and tutored at Brookdale Community College.

The Doherty family moved to Red Bank in 1973. All four Doherty children are graduates of the Red Bank Boro school district and RBR. While raising her children, Mrs. Doherty volunteered extensively with the Girl Scouts and the Red Bank public schools. She has worked for the State of New Jersey’s Division of Developmental Disabilities for the past 18 years, where she is currently a case management supervisor. She also worked as a crisis counselor at Riverview Hospital.

Accepting her commendation, Mrs. Doherty stated that she is most proud to be part of a Board that had the vision to support the arts at a time when art was being cut from most high school curricula, as well as contributing to the district’s decision to eliminate the academic tracking system — thus permitting more students to undertake the school’s most rigorous course work.