Mr. Cloutier has been selected as Eastern’s Superintendent following Dr. Melleby’s retirement at the conclusion of the 2018-19 school year.

  After receiving an undergraduate degree from Temple University, Mr. Cloutier continued his education at Temple’s Beasley School of Law. He also holds a master’s degree in  management from Thomas Edison College and is pursuing a doctorate degree in shared leadership through Arcadia University, pending completion of his dissertation.

  After  receiving his bachelor’s degree, Mr. Cloutier assumed his first teaching role in the 1990-91 school year in Pennsylvania. After a brief period teaching in northern New Jersey, he settled in Cherry Hill, where he would teach from 1992 to 2006 for what would be the majority of his teaching career.

  In August of 2006, Mr. Cloutier began working at Eastern as a Vice Principal with primary supervision of the English and Social Studies departments.

In professionally deciding to remain at Eastern, Mr. Cloutier provided the following reasons, “You have parents and students and the larger community that wholeheartedly support this school. There is tremendous leadership from the school board and administrators. It makes you want to come in to work every day.”

After his predecessor’s retirement in 2014, he assumed his current position as Eastern’s Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Development.

  In his previously held positions at Eastern, Mr. Cloutier focused in developing academic programs for students and coordinating professional workshops for staff.

His new position will encompass a broader scope of responsibilities and challenges. “I will be returning to a more direct student oversight role,” said Mr. Cloutier. “And so, I will rely on quality coaches, parent involvement, student engagement, and the administrative team to continue the wonderful opportunities we have.”

  Beginning this year, Mr. Cloutier worked with the District Advisory, a counsel of nearly fifth community members, parents, students, teachers and administrators, to discuss the integration of a strategic five year plan. Through this committee, Mr. Cloutier aims to accomplish several goals for Eastern, including the revisement of Eastern’s mission statement.

  His efforts align with his hope for increased community involvement and engagement. “I am a big believer in needing to include as many perspectives in the process as possible,” said Mr. Cloutier. “Great ideas are out there. You are only going to be better working as a team.”

  According to Mr. Cloutier, these values are derived from his teaching experiences as well as his mentors and colleagues. “There is no greater joy than watching students succeed. You never lose that joy of directly engaging with students and watching them succeed or overcome struggles and challenges.”

Mr. Cloutier possesses great pride for Eastern, a school for which he can only describe as “the ideal educational community.”

He is honored that a school of Eastern’s caliber has selected him as Superintendent to continue its upward success. Mr. Cloutier said, “It’s going to be wonderful.”