Commercial Township schools seek principal, curriculum leader for Port Norris campus

Commercial Township schools are trying to fill two of the most important jobs in a one-school district: principal and director of curriculum and instruction for the Port Norris campus. The hiring push comes as the district looks for someone who can steady classroom instruction, supervise staff and tighten student supports for about 500 pre-K through eighth-grade students.

The posting is for the 2026-2027 school year and was listed on NJSchoolJobs on May 8, with applications set to close June 7. The district says the successful candidate will lead schoolwide instructional improvement, curriculum development, assessment and intervention programs aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards, along with professional development, staff supervision, student discipline and data-driven decision-making.

Commercial Township is a small, rural-distant PK-8 district in Cumberland County with one school. Federal district data for 2024-2025 lists 513 students, 41 classroom teachers and a student-teacher ratio of 12.51, with 79 total district staff. A state performance report for 2023-2024 listed 471 total students, underscoring how close the district is to the enrollment threshold where even a handful of students can alter staffing, scheduling and support needs.

That is why the curriculum piece of the job matters as much as the principal title. On a campus that serves every grade from preschool through eighth grade, one leader will be expected to oversee curriculum resources, gifted and talented identification, testing information and grade-level materials, all while keeping instruction aligned across a single building. For families, that can affect everything from reading intervention in the early grades to math placement and discipline expectations in middle school.

The district is also signaling that its hiring needs go beyond one vacancy. Its own website shows a separate superintendent/principal posting and other open positions, suggesting Commercial Township is managing broader staffing demands as it enters the new school year. The superintendent/principal posting says the district has a nine-member elected board, a roughly $17 million operating budget, 53 certificated staff and 31 non-certificated staff.

Minutes from a June 10, 2025 board meeting listed Superintendent Jean Smith, Vice Principal Kerri Zeleniak, Board Secretary Darren Harris and Business Official Lesa Robbins present, offering a snapshot of the district’s current leadership structure as it navigates recruitment. The posting seeks a candidate with New Jersey School Administrator and Principal licensure, with a doctoral degree, school building leadership experience and central office administration preferred.

In a district this small, the next principal and curriculum leader will not just oversee a campus in Port Norris. The hire will shape how Commercial Township delivers instruction, supports teachers and responds to state expectations for every child in the building.