Superintendent retiring after 50 years

Sal Goncalves, superintendent of Bloomfield schools, will be retiring at the end of the month after 50 years in the district.

A first-generation American, he grew up in Bayonne and attended Bayonne High School.

“I was blessed with the parents I had and the grandparents, on my mother’s side,” he said. “Mom is Italian and Dad is Portuguese. Mom’s parents bought a home in Bayonne and my dad walked by her home everyday and took a shine to her. Her name is Rose and Dad’s is Manuel. Mom came here with her parents and spoke Italian. My dad spoke Portuguese and learned Italian as he learned English. He came over alone and lived in a cold-water flat on New York’s Lower East Side.”

Goncalves said he completely understands the immigrant experience of Bloomfield children because his parents shared their experiences with him: It was not an easy life.

His father was a maintenance worker for the Clorox Co. and “a great family man.”

“We made our own wine,” Goncalves said with delight. “It was a family affair making the wine. We had a vineyard in the backyard, but that’s not where we got our grapes from.

“Mom was a seamstress, just like grandma,” he continued. “She wanted to be a school teacher, but that didn’t work out. But she got two teachers, me and my sister Mary—Mary DeSteno. She’s now a retired first-grade teacher. My other sister is Addy. She passed away and was a secretary in New York City. She was the oldest and kept us in line. Mary was an inspiration to me. Basically, I was raised by women while dad worked a lot.”

Goncalves attended Jersey City State College, now New Jersey City University, majoring in education and history.

“I’m a big fan of history, but I didn’t think it would get me much,” he said.

Not wanting to interrupt his studies and always desiring to be an administrator, he went directly to Montclair State College, now Montclair State University, for his masters in administration and supervision.

Then it was looking for a job. He interviewed in Tinton Falls and Bloomfield.

“I told my mother about the interviews and told her I couldn’t make up my mind,” he recalled. “And she said, ‘Well, you talked about Tinton Falls for 15 minutes and 50 minutes on Bloomfield. I think you’ve made up your mind.’”

He started at Watsessing Elementary School, in 1976, as a sixth-grade teacher. Transferred in 1985, he taught computer science in North, and then South, junior high schools. In 1992, he became Berkeley Elementary School principal and in 2012, Bloomfield Middle School principal. In 2012, he was appointed superintendent.

“Teaching is a noble profession and of great importance to society when it’s done right,” he said. “In my mind, there’s no doubt about it. When it’s done right, it looks like pro golfers on TV, on Sunday. But when it’s not done right, it gets ugly real fast.

“In society right now, we’re not focused on the important things—such as respect for one another and the importance of a good education. Public education is the life line of our society and schools are a mirror of society. If society is doing well, schools are doing better and visa-versa.”

But schools cannot serve as surrogate parents, he said. Schools and parents have their roles and ought to be teammates because children are growing up in a very challenging society.

“The state has put so much into the curriculum,” he continued, “but we can’t make more time in the day. The core curriculum is excellent, but some things have to be taught at home, especially if you’re a single parent.”

Significant district accomplishments during his tenure he believes include the one-to-one chrome book initiative and the opening of the Early Childhood Center. He is also proud that the district, for three consecutive three-year periods, passed the NJ Department of Education’s accountability continuum for public schools or NJQSAC, deeming it an effective district. But there were some things he would like to wish away.

“I wish we never sold South Junior High,” he said. “All our buildings are all over 100 years old. They weren’t built for education in 2026. And we certainly could have used Brookside School. It’s condos now.”

Goncalves started thinking about retirement a couple of years ago and notified the board in September. He is very happy his assistant, Joseph Fleres, is his successor. As for his future, he would like to mentor young administrators, see Portugal, but keep an open mind.

“I’ve invested a lot of time here and I’m thankful to the educational community and the community-at-large,” he said. “Now I think I’m ready to see what this retirement gig is all about.”