School board chief takes job seriously
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
By DANIELLE SHAPIRO
HERALD NEWS
Andre Sayegh is always well-dressed.
"Some people think I go to bed in a suit," the 33-year-old
Paterson Board of Education president said Friday. That day,
Sayegh was wearing a navy blue ensemble with a shiny Rotary pin
on the lapel of his jacket.
For those who want to know, Sayegh usually sleeps in a Mets
T-shirt. Sayegh is a busy man so it's easy to imagine how the
suits could stay on for the four to five hours he yields to sleep
each night. But Sayegh believes you are what you wear.
"The suit says I take my job very seriously, and I'm willing to
work very hard to accomplish goals," he said.
Sayegh recently left as chief of staff to state Sen. John A.
Girgenti, D-Hawthorne, to become executive director of the
Paterson Alliance, a consortium of nonprofits. However, he
remains an adviserto Girgenti, and is serving his sixth year on
the Paterson volunteer school board.
Sayegh also teaches history at William Paterson University and
psychology at Passaic County Community College, and he's
running for a 6th Ward City Council seat against Ilia Villanueva.
Girgenti called Sayegh a "conscientious" and "compassionate
guy" who likes to serve the public.
Sayegh's ambition, which is punctuated by a mercurial work ethic
inherited from his mother, Raymonde Sayegh, inspires some
around him and rankles others. Detractors complain that
Sayegh's actions are politically motivated. Supporters say he's
just trying to do the best he can for the city he loves.
"My mother had a call to serve because my father left," he said.
"She didn't make excuses. She didn't sit there and feel sorry for
herself. She always said you should seek joy in what you can give
not what you can get."
Raymonde Sayegh raised Andre and his brother, Aldo, alone
working as a school bus driver for 18 years. His father, from
whom he is estranged, left when Sayegh was 8 years old and Aldo
was 6 years old, though he provided some financial support,
Andre Sayegh said.
That's how Sayegh attended DePaul Catholic High School in
Wayne. He was not a standout student in high school, but that
changed in college when he used the pain of his father's
departure and his mother's unwavering determination that her
two sons succeed.
"I don't believe in revenge," he said. "But the best form of
redemption is to live well and education is how we were going to
live well."
Sayegh acknowledged that there are no limits to his political
aspirations: "What kid growing up doesn't want to be president?"
At 14, he handed out fliers for Michael Dukakis' Democratic
presidential bid.
Since then, a college professor told him he had "Potomac fever,"
Sayegh recalled, noting he would like to serve in Washington,
D.C., at some point.
His school board colleague, Dr. Jonathan Hodges, said those
ambitions concerned him when Sayegh first joined the panel.
"I thought he'd been placed there by politicians to do their
bidding," Hodges said. "But that's not what he did. I subsequently
apologized to him. He showed considerable independence and a
genuine interest in improving the education of our children."
After graduating summa cum laude from Seton Hall University
and completing a master's degree in public administration at
Columbia University, Sayegh continues his education as a
voracious reader who devours at least one book a week, often
rising at 5:15 a.m. to complete one chapter and the local
newspaper.
He reads at night, too, finishing 100 books last year. Among his
favorite tomes were "It Takes A Village," by Hillary Clinton and
"Clemente" by David Maraniss. The reading acumen sets an
example for children, he said.
Sayegh called the school board a "natural fit," given his mother's
emphasis on education and his own experiences.
As president of the board since April, Sayegh has organized eight
board retreats over the summer with training from the New
Jersey School Boards Association.
He has guided his colleagues on reviewing board policies that are
decades old, and as chairman of the curriculum committee, was
instrumental in creating a districtwide curriculum being
implemented this year.
Alaa Abdelaziz, 19, a Paterson resident who took Sayegh's
western civilization class at William Paterson University, called
him a "great professor" who was able to make an 8 a.m. class
interesting by connecting current events with those from the past.
With a younger brother in Paterson's School 9, Abdelaziz said
he's gotten to know Sayegh as a person outside of class, too.
"If you need Andre to be there, he'll always be there," Abdelaziz
said, whether that's at the church, mosque, baseball events or
parades. "He's always around. You can't get rid of him."
Reach Danielle Shapiro at 973-569-7153 or
shapiro@northjersey.com.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
By DANIELLE SHAPIRO
HERALD NEWS
Andre Sayegh is always well-dressed.
"Some people think I go to bed in a suit," the 33-year-old
Paterson Board of Education president said Friday. That day,
Sayegh was wearing a navy blue ensemble with a shiny Rotary pin
on the lapel of his jacket.
For those who want to know, Sayegh usually sleeps in a Mets
T-shirt. Sayegh is a busy man so it's easy to imagine how the
suits could stay on for the four to five hours he yields to sleep
each night. But Sayegh believes you are what you wear.
"The suit says I take my job very seriously, and I'm willing to
work very hard to accomplish goals," he said.
Sayegh recently left as chief of staff to state Sen. John A.
Girgenti, D-Hawthorne, to become executive director of the
Paterson Alliance, a consortium of nonprofits. However, he
remains an adviserto Girgenti, and is serving his sixth year on
the Paterson volunteer school board.
Sayegh also teaches history at William Paterson University and
psychology at Passaic County Community College, and he's
running for a 6th Ward City Council seat against Ilia Villanueva.
Girgenti called Sayegh a "conscientious" and "compassionate
guy" who likes to serve the public.
Sayegh's ambition, which is punctuated by a mercurial work ethic
inherited from his mother, Raymonde Sayegh, inspires some
around him and rankles others. Detractors complain that
Sayegh's actions are politically motivated. Supporters say he's
just trying to do the best he can for the city he loves.
"My mother had a call to serve because my father left," he said.
"She didn't make excuses. She didn't sit there and feel sorry for
herself. She always said you should seek joy in what you can give
not what you can get."
Raymonde Sayegh raised Andre and his brother, Aldo, alone
working as a school bus driver for 18 years. His father, from
whom he is estranged, left when Sayegh was 8 years old and Aldo
was 6 years old, though he provided some financial support,
Andre Sayegh said.
That's how Sayegh attended DePaul Catholic High School in
Wayne. He was not a standout student in high school, but that
changed in college when he used the pain of his father's
departure and his mother's unwavering determination that her
two sons succeed.
"I don't believe in revenge," he said. "But the best form of
redemption is to live well and education is how we were going to
live well."
Sayegh acknowledged that there are no limits to his political
aspirations: "What kid growing up doesn't want to be president?"
At 14, he handed out fliers for Michael Dukakis' Democratic
presidential bid.
Since then, a college professor told him he had "Potomac fever,"
Sayegh recalled, noting he would like to serve in Washington,
D.C., at some point.
His school board colleague, Dr. Jonathan Hodges, said those
ambitions concerned him when Sayegh first joined the panel.
"I thought he'd been placed there by politicians to do their
bidding," Hodges said. "But that's not what he did. I subsequently
apologized to him. He showed considerable independence and a
genuine interest in improving the education of our children."
After graduating summa cum laude from Seton Hall University
and completing a master's degree in public administration at
Columbia University, Sayegh continues his education as a
voracious reader who devours at least one book a week, often
rising at 5:15 a.m. to complete one chapter and the local
newspaper.
He reads at night, too, finishing 100 books last year. Among his
favorite tomes were "It Takes A Village," by Hillary Clinton and
"Clemente" by David Maraniss. The reading acumen sets an
example for children, he said.
Sayegh called the school board a "natural fit," given his mother's
emphasis on education and his own experiences.
As president of the board since April, Sayegh has organized eight
board retreats over the summer with training from the New
Jersey School Boards Association.
He has guided his colleagues on reviewing board policies that are
decades old, and as chairman of the curriculum committee, was
instrumental in creating a districtwide curriculum being
implemented this year.
Alaa Abdelaziz, 19, a Paterson resident who took Sayegh's
western civilization class at William Paterson University, called
him a "great professor" who was able to make an 8 a.m. class
interesting by connecting current events with those from the past.
With a younger brother in Paterson's School 9, Abdelaziz said
he's gotten to know Sayegh as a person outside of class, too.
"If you need Andre to be there, he'll always be there," Abdelaziz
said, whether that's at the church, mosque, baseball events or
parades. "He's always around. You can't get rid of him."
Reach Danielle Shapiro at 973-569-7153 or
shapiro@northjersey.com.
IN THE NEWS . . .
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ONE PEOPLE.
ONE PURPOSE.
ONE PATERSON.
ONE PURPOSE.
ONE PATERSON.
Sayegh For The Sixth
Bringing Neighbors Together