school
Making room
for preschool
Early childhoodcenter comes to Wayne, led by educator Jessica Hammond
WRITTENBYPHILIPDEVENCENTIS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN R. WEXLER
The building blocks
of learning start
getting stacked
before kindergarten,
and Jessica Hammond
is an architect ofthat
early childhood instruction. This year,
she is laying anew foundation for
academic achievement at the K-12
district’s most historic schoolhouse.
Hammond is the principal of the
district’s new early childhood center
at Preakness School onHamburg
Turnpike inWayne. The east wing
of the circa-1924 building was renovated
toaccommodate 11 classrooms
for 3- to 5-year-old children.
Hammond, 44, says her life’s work
has revolved around those formative
years.
“We’re really the gateway to the
educational system for students,”
she says. Anative of Massachusetts,
she lives in Upper Saddle River with
her husband, Todd, and her sons,
Maverick and Zachary.
“There’s just so much learning that
happens,” she adds. “I love that —I
love being apart of it. I’m beyond
excited for this position, and I’m
eager towork with our teachers and
families.”
Hammond, who is being paid
an annual salary of $139,821, was
hired by the Board ofEducation
in May. She was among more than
110 applicants for the job. Schools
Superintendent Mark Toback
says her background in preschool
settings cinched her appointment.
“Her qualifications are aligned
with what we need for an early childhood
principal,” the schools chief
says. “It’s a new school, so someone
with that experience, who can step
in and help toshape the program, is
an enormous benefit for the district.”
Hammond was most recently
a coach in curriculum development
and early literacy for the state
Department of Education, and has 18
years of experience as a teacher or
administrator for preschools in New
England. She was also an adjunct
professor of early childhood and
human development for Purdue
University Global Inc. (an accredited
online college) and Rutgers, and
earned a doctorate in education
leadership at Johnson &Wales
University in 2011. She completed
undergraduate work at Fitchburg
State University.
There is a lot riding on the
success of the district’s early childhood
center.
Opening the preschool was the
second step of a multi-million dollar
plan to bring full-day kindergarten to
the township. Wayne remains the last
public district in the county without
such a program. Voters rejected
12 BACK TOSCHOOL 2020 WAYNE MAGAZINE