SAYREVILLE – A district administrator in the Sayreville School District will retire from his position at the end of the year after more than four decades in education that included 11 years in Sayreville.
At a meeting on Nov. 21, the Board of Education honored the retirement of Thomas Gentile, the district’s supervisor of Social Studies, related arts and extracurricular activities, effective Jan. 1. He joined the district in 2006.
In addition to his tenure in Sayreville, Gentile worked at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City since 1976, according to Superintendent of Schools Richard Labbe.
“We are confronted yet again with another one of those bittersweet moments in which we have to say goodbye and say thank you to a beloved staff member, but also wish that person all the best in their retirement,” Labbe said. “Thomas Gentile … has decided to retire.
“Thomas Gentile’s career as an educator has spanned over 40 years,” he continued. “His impact on students and educators alike has cast a net far and wide. In September of 2006, Mr. Gentile began his tenure in the Sayreville School District, serving as the supervisor of Humanities. When not working as a teacher or an administrator, Thomas served as an adjunct professor, passionately teaching generations of adults to achieve their life goals and ambitions.
“From 1976 to 2002, Mr. Gentile served as the English as a Second Language program director at Saint Peter’s, as well as a professor in the program at the same time. In 1982, Tom became one of the first professors of education to work with adults trying to become teachers through the alternate route program. He has continued to work as a professor in this program to the present day.
“Mr. Gentile has also served as an adjunct professor in the Saint Peter’s University graduate program, where he has provided classes and supervision, assessment, law, research and curriculum,” the superintendent said. “In 2016, in recognition of his 40 years of service, Tom was awarded [by] Saint Peter’s University.
“With such a long and distinguished career in his dedication to help his students and his adult students to achieve their goals, I think we can all agree that Tom has more than earned his retirement,” Labbe said. “We all wish him a happy and healthy retirement and we thank him for his service to the students, faculty and staff of the Sayreville Public Schools.”
Board member Lucy Bloom, who previously served the district as a teacher, also voiced praise of Gentile.
“Tom was my supervisor for six years and [I] could not ask for a nicer, kinder, sweeter man. He knew nothing about art, but he did his best and whenever he came into my room. He was always impressed, which was nice. He’s not well, but we love him with all our heart and we wish him the very best and the best of health in his retirement,” she said.
Further praise of Gentile was provided by board President Kevin Ciak.
“I’d also like to thank Mr. Gentile for his years of service to Sayreville,” Ciak said. “From overseeing the band to humanities and the arts, he’s done a great job here. He’s always also been the one who organized every single year the Back to School for Legislators Day and that’s been such an integral part of our program here at the high school. And I’m really appreciative of all the time that he’s put in and the team that he’s built within the history department of the district.”
