By Kira Nelsen
RED BANK – This summer the St. James Elementary School community lost a beloved former teacher. For 38 years Ann Fitzgerald taught fifth- through eighth-grade math at St. James. During those years “Mrs. Fitz,” as she was known by families and students, taught generations of families. She proudly referred to her students as her “kids.” She understood the value of building a positive teacher-student relationship until her retirement in 2012.
Fitzgerald’s sense of humor was contagious. She brightened the school days for students as well as her fellow teachers. “Her classroom was a happy place,” former St. James Elementary School principal Janet Dolan said. “It was her personality, humor and smile that won the hearts of countless students through the years. She made learning fun.”
Generations of students enjoyed their time spent in Mrs. Fitzgerald’s classroom. Joseph Ruscavage, St. James Class of 1982, remembers that “she made learning both fun and easy. She had a wonderful personality and we all knew how much she cared about each of us,” he said. “I will never forget her and her impact on my life as my teacher.”
While Fitzgerald made an impact on many of her students, the biggest impact at St. James was the introduction of technology into the classrooms. She was eager to utilize and introduce technology to her students, starting with computers and eventually iPads and interactive whiteboards. She served as the school’s technology coordinator for many years.
Perhaps her greatest achievement was creating the Math Lab in the early 1990s. Formerly an old typewriting room, the Math Lab’s fun environment allowed students of all ages to sharpen their math skills while using technology, two subjects Fitzgerald loved.
“The concept was pretty radical then,” Dolan noted, “especially for a Catholic school. She self-taught the ins-and-out of programs and as time went on expanded the program that included kindergarten through eighth grade. She really was a pioneer in this field, at least for us.”
JoAnn Giordano, current St. James Elementary School principal recalled that “Fitzgerald understood the importance of student engagement. She knew that technology was one way of enhancing student engagement and took on the challenge of using it in her classroom. I was very impressed by Mrs. Fitz’s willingness to learn and explore new ways to prepare her students for future learning.”
“St. James Elementary School was blessed to have had a teacher like Mrs. Fitzgerald,” Giordano said.
To honor Fitzgerald, who died in June, St. James School has set up the Ann Fitzgerald Memorial Fund. Money from this fund will be used to replace and update the interactive whiteboards in the classrooms. The goal is to raise $38,000 in honor of her 38 years at the school.
Donations can be mailed to St. James Elementary School, 30 Peters Place, Red Bank, NJ 07701.
The article originally appeared in the October 7 – 13, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
