Mt. Laurel Superintendent of Schools Dr. Antoinette Rath will step down from the post she has held for the past 13 years as of Sept. 8. Rath has accepted the Chief Executive Officer’s position at Collegium Charter School in Exton, Pa., an independent public school with 2,600 students in grades kindergarten through 12.
“This is definitely a bittersweet time for me, both personally and professionally,” Rath said. “Mt. Laurel’s students have enjoyed many successes over the past 13 years. Our staff has always been willing to strive for more and try new strategies. They are truly dedicated professionals. The community has been endlessly supportive. It is certainly not easy to leave.
“However, I could not deny the professional challenges offered by this new position,” she said, “as well as the opportunity to move closer to extended family in that area.”
Coming from Cherry Hill where she was deputy superintendent, Rath became
Mt. Laurel’s Superintendent in September of 2002. She was soon hailed on a statewide level as a presenter on the topic of using data to inform education and worked with Mt. Laurel staff at all levels to disaggregate data to understand their student’s needs.
“There has been a massive transformation in education over the past decade,” she said, “yet I remain excited and optimistic about the future. We are shifting toward a pattern of individualized learning that recognizes the unique talents of each student. Our emphasis on creative and critical thinking will serve our students well in the workforce of the future. The inroads we have made here in Mt. Laurel certainly position our students for success. I am proud to have played a role in that progress.”
Rath began the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program in 2011 after attending a leadership conference where the inequities in the number of female students pursuing math and science degrees were highlighted. She sought and developed corporate partnerships with Lockheed-Martin and The Sallie Mae Fund to finance the new STEM course, which has since expanded to ten courses in grades five to eight and several extra-curricular clubs.
Over the years, Rath organized and facilitated a number of community summits to engage a wide cross-section of parents, town leaders and residents in plotting the future course of their schools. She led the district’s transformation to adhere to new state standards and expanded technology integration in every subject area, most recently with a $1 million laptop initiative.
She was the 2014 Burlington County Woman of the Year In Education and is Burlington County’s Superintendent of the Year for 2015.
Mount Laurel’s Board of Education will consider Dr. Rath’s official letter of resignation at its July meeting and begin discussions on the process for selecting her replacement.
