Teachers, kids in two districts shine for state education boss   by Tug

Acting Commissioner of Education Christopher Cerf donned 3-D glasses to view a third-grade art project at Hillside Elementary School, sat through a SMART board demonstration on creating poems and listened to the Tenakill Middle School band perform in a visit to the Closter school district on Tuesday.

Cerf was invited to the district by Superintendent Joanne Newberry, who had heard him speak at Bergen Community College in February.

“I told him if he wanted to see excellence in education, let me know,” Newberry said this week, paraphrasing the e-mail she sent to the acting commissioner.

Cerf, who was nominated in December and is awaiting confirmation, accepted the invitation. He also stopped by the Tenafly school district on Tuesday.

The visit started at Hillside Elementary School, where Cerf watched elementary students put together the school’s daily newscast. He also sat through a portion of a third-grade science class on how sound travels.

He was greeted at the middle school’s entrance by the Student Council president and vice president. He listened to the band perform John Philip Sousa’s “Semper Fidelis” and Robert W. Smith’s “Encanto” before heading off to a math class. He also visited the school’s annual art exhibit across the street at the Belskie Museum.

Newberry said this is the first time that she is aware of that an education commissioner