A longtime South Jersey educator who launched a podcast last year is among three finalists for National Principal of the Year.
Tony Cattani has been principal of Lenape High School in Medford in Burlington County for 18 years. He is also an executive committee member of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.
He hosts the "Proud Principals Podcast," which focuses on school leaders making a difference in their communities.
Cattani is among the nominees in the annual contest organized by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, a Virginia-based organization for educators at middle school and high schools.
The group nominated three finalists each for high school principal of the year and middle school principal of the year. Cattani is the only nominee from New Jersey.
“I’m super-proud to represent New Jersey. It’s overwhelming and humbling to me,” Cattani told NJ Advance Media.
The other finalists are: Terita Walker of Denver East High School in Denver, Colorado; and Shauna Haney of Ogden High School in Ogden, Utah.
Cattani has been a longtime presence in the Lenape Regional High School district, where four high schools enroll students from eight municipalities covering about one third of Burlington County.
He started in 1999 as a health and physical education teacher at Cherokee High School in Evesham. Three years later, he became an assistant principal at Shawnee High School in Medford.
In 2007, he was hired as principal of Lenape High School, the oldest of the district’s four schools. It enrolls students from Mount Laurel.
Cattani’s podcast debuted Sept. 2.
“Welcome to the Proud Principals Podcast, where we shine a light on the incredible work of school leaders making a difference every day,” Cattani says in his trailer.
Twenty episodes have been broadcast, most recently an interview with Jen Cimaglia, principal of Hardyston Elementary School in Sussex County, in which she discussed the school’s new literacy program.
Cattani was nominated for high school principal of the year “for his role in developing a positive and inclusive school culture, where students and staff feel valued and supported,” according to the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Winners will be announced July 9 when the organization gathers in Seattle.
The high school and middle school principal of the year award program started in 1993, a National Association of Secondary School Principals spokesperson said.
No New Jersey educators have won since at least 2014, the most recent year for which the organization has records, the spokesperson said.
Cattani’s wife, Katherine Cattani, is a teacher at New Albany Elementary School in Cinnaminson. They are the parents of four daughters.
Cattani is a Rowan University graduate.
Stories by Rob Jennings
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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.