Carteret principal is honored

John Baltz, principal of Carteret Elementary School, will be presented the Bloomfield Educational Foundation’s 2026 Educator of the Year Award, May 6, at a gala at Nanina’s in the Park, Belleville.

Like most good educators, he would be the first to tell you he is still learning.

Born and raised in Bloomfield, Baltz attended Berkeley Avenue School and South Junior High. A member of the Bloomfield High School, Class of ‘81, he was a three-sport athlete playing quarterback in football, guard in basketball and catcher and centerfield in baseball.

He received his teaching certificate from Seton Hall University and his educational leadership certification at St. Peter’s University.

“I was coaching freshman football, in Bloomfield and still in college, when I decided to pursue teaching,” he said recently. “I just enjoyed working with the students and coaching was something I wanted to continue. But that was tough if you’re not on a teacher’s schedule.”

Baltz taught math at McGuinness Middle School, in Perth Amboy, and then went to Plainfield’s Cedarbrook Elementary School.

“I had a nice run there teaching basic skills math and special ed,” he said, adding that he also coached football and softball at Plainfield High School.

He returned to his hometown as vice-principal of the middle school. At the time, Pat Pelikan was principal. She was followed by Sal Goncalves, the current superintendent.

“It’s extremely important to spend time in the classroom to gain the perspective of being a teacher and running the class,” Baltz said. “So when you become an administrator, you know the challenges. You have to factor in what a teacher does and their schedule.”

He said the person in front of the classroom wears many hats during the day. Being a teacher is only one.

“The great teachers do it so well and make it look easy,” he said. “They don’t know they’re doing it.”

Baltz has been Carteret principal for 11 years and believes himself very fortunate to land there, most especially because of the staff.

“And I use the word staff because it’s not just the teachers,” he said. “It’s my office staff, the custodians, the nurse, our paraprofessionals, everything we do is a team effort and I’ve learned from them. What to do and what not to do, and the importance of communication. You must gain perspective from all parties before making a decision. This is the importance of team work.”

He mentioned the book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins and the standard dictates that for a group effort “everyone gets on the bus.” But Baltz said, from the book, he learned that the goal is to get everyone in the right seat on the bus because people are good at different things and it is their strategies that will be used to build community.

“A team can accomplish way more than a person,” he said. “The participation of parents is important, too. Our programs at Carteret are based on needs. We take into consideration parents’, teachers’ and the students’ needs.

“We have a professional development team and what I like to call our curriculum experts,” he continued. “These are teachers who are very strong in curriculum. Once we identify the needs of teachers in terms of curriculum, then we create professional development to support those needs.

“Sometimes the plan is divided into grade levels, so we’ll develop individual plans,” he continued further. “On the professional development team, we have representatives from every grade. We communicate the elementary principals on a weekly basis and share information with everyone.

But I’m not doing anything other administrators, my colleagues in the district aren’t doing. I’m really humbled and honored by this award.”

The Carteret staff focuses on the whole child, he said, especially the emotional part because kids do come to school with real challenges.

“We want to make this school a place where they want to come,” he said.

Harkening back to his BHS days, Baltz said he really enjoyed playing sports and had some coaches who left a positive and lasting experience. The legendary football coach, Sam Cavallaro, immediately came to mind because of his emphasis on having a strong work ethic and the importance of team work.

“One of his phrases was, ‘We teach the skills to master the game.’” Baltz recalled. “That stresses the importance of teaching sports, math, anything. What we do at Carteret really is a team effort.”