Mr. Sealander is the Vice Principal at Iselin Middle School. He has been at IMS for 3 years. He used to work at JFK but came to IMS. He wanted to be in the FBI but became part of the school administration. He got the job as vice principal at Fords Middle School when he was 32.
Panther Press: Did you go to IMS, if not what school?
Mr. Sealander: Middle school like you, wow you’re going way back. I did not go to IMS as a student, I grew up in South Jersey in Cherry Hill and went to a catholic school.
Panther Press: Why did you want to be vice principal?
Mr. Sealander: Well I started of teaching and I taught history at JFK(John F Kennedy High School) and moving to the next level in education gave me a chance to work with kids and teachers and parent, in a much different way then teaching. I like the aspect of being able to work with teachers and help them become the best teachers at IMS.
Panther Press: Did you want to become vice principal when you were a kid, if not then what did you want to be?
Mr. Sealander: I definitely did not have school administration on my radar when I was your age. I think I wanted to be a police officer or go to the FBI.
Panther Press: What was the hardest thing of being vice principal?
Mr. Sealander: The hardest thing? Well sometimes there’s a lot of different things to balance and a lot of different situations and things sometimes come up. You know there’s 800 kids here, so sometimes it’s having to do with discipline and other times a kid gets hurt. Other times you know a kid might be struggling in class or having an issue at home and some way a lot of the problems at school either come by the principal or vice principal desk and it’s a lot of different hats we have to wear.
Panther Press: How much do you earn?
Mr. Sealander- It’s a good job and a great career. It gives me more time to spend with my family.
Panther Press: What’s your main job as vice principal?
Mr. Sealander: My main job I would say overall is the safety, supervision and well-being of the students in the school.
Panther Press -Would you ever want to quit your job? Why?
Mr. Sealander- Well I definitely don’t want to quit. This is my 30th year teaching, not just as vice principal. I will soon have to retire but definitely not quit.
Panther Press- How old were you when you got your job as vice principal?
Mr. Sealander- I think I have just turned 32.
Panther Press- Do you get a say in hiring teachers or only Mrs. Celentio?
Mr. Sealander- So yeah, it’s that kind of thing that Mrs. Celentio has, sometimes I sit for the interview but she gets the top say.
Panther Press- When did you get interested in vice principle?
Mr. Sealander: I would say I was teaching for a few years and I wanted to face more challenges outside the classroom, so I went back and got my masters degree.
Panther Press- Is there anything else you would like to add?
Mr. Sealander: This is my 3rd year as vice principal at IMS.
