Join Let’s Talk About Race and our speaker Vincent R. De Lucia for a conversation on immigration, alienation, and assimilation. Using his personal history, Vince will provide us with an interactive learning opportunity to connect our past and present during this month’s program The Story of My Immigrant Family & Yours: From Alienation to Assimilation.
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Vincent R. De Lucia has extensive experience in public education, industry, and government in various leadership roles, including serving as Mayor, as an school and district administrative leader, as manager working in the pharmaceutical/medical device industry, and as the NJ School Boards Association Director of Special Projects.
Currently, Mr. DeLucia provides professional learning that includes collaborative leadership, climate, culture and comprehensive total school district growth. In addition to providing professional learning to educational leaders and practitioners, DeLucia is a member of the Rutgers University faculty plus facilitates graduate level courses through the Regional Training Center who confer masters degrees through the College of NJ and LaSalle University.
Mr. De Lucia holds Master’s Degrees in Instruction as well as Administration and Supervision. In 1994, he was among the first seventy-nine teachers in the United States to achieve National Board Certification (English/Language Arts: Early Adolescence). He contributed to designating Crossroads Middle School as a US Department of Education “Blue Ribbon School of Excellence” and helped plan the transition to two middle school organizations in South Brunswick. Later, he was recruited to reform the failing middle level school in North Brunswick, where he served as Principal of Linwood Middle School starting in 2001.
Under his leadership, Linwood Middle School developed Professional Learning Communities, focused on data-driven instruction and decision-making, and built a school-family community. In 2002, Mr. De Lucia received a Geraldine A. Dodge Foundation grant for “Creating an Invitational School Climate.” He also held positions such as Assistant to the Superintendent, Public Information Officer, and Supervisor of Alternative Programs in South Brunswick, and served as Director of Curriculum and Director of Professional Development & Communications in North Brunswick.
Mr. De Lucia has worked as a Regional Manager, District Manager, and Sales Trainer in the pharmaceutical/medical device industry, with a focus on cardiology. As an educational consultant, he has provided professional development to a variety of audiences nationally and across New Jersey including addressing issues related to mental health post-Covid. His research contributed to implementing the Healthy Communities-Healthy Kids initiative in South Brunswick.
His presentation topics cover emotional/mental health in schools and communities, the impact of Professional Learning Communities, democracy, SEL importance, turning around failing schools, teacher evaluations, instructional strategies, organizational climates, student management, developing alternative programs, collaborative teams, Common Core State Standards, and pre-kindergarten benefits. He has contributed to the NJ DOE’s Office of Governance & Leadership and presented nationally on topics ranging from mental health to closing learning gaps during Covid.
Mr. De Lucia has served on Governor Murphy’s Dual Enrollment Commission and other committees related to education and juvenile justice. As the Mayor of South Brunswick, his achievements include addressing children's emotional health, increasing industrial ratables, preserving farms, funding Open Space preservation, and maintaining integrity in local government. As a member of the Dual Enrollment Commission, DeLucia is an advocate of reimagining comprehensive public high schools to prepare all students for entry level careers by providing opportunities to graduate from high school with industry/professional certifications, college credits, and a high school diploma upon graduating from high school.
De Lucia is involved in several research leadership teams addressing collaboration, SEL, and DEI initiatives. He serves on advisory boards and has facilitated task force reports for NJSBA on various topics including health & wellness, student achievement, mental health, career-focused learners, pandemic-related issues, and firearms safety. He also facilitates professional learning programs on immigration (The Story of My Immigrant Family & Yours: From Alienation to Assimilation?, democracy (Why Did Winston Churchill Describe Democracy as Messy?), leadership – including turbulent times, SEL (Why is SEL Important for All Students?), dual enrollment opportunities (Let’s Make Comprehensive High Schools Relevant for All Learners Again!)and Firearms Safety-Differentiated Processes for Schools & Communities and numerous other topics.
Mr. De Lucia has four children and three (Soon to be four) grandchildren. His family members work in various professions including satellite radio, television production, law enforcement, school nursing, nursing assistance, and pharmacy technology. Mr. De Lucia and his wife Joan reside in Toms River and remain active in their community, volunteering at the RWJ/Barnabas Field of Dreams- NJ’s first inclusive comprehensive outdoor recreation facility for people of all ages and abilities.
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The evolution of The Story of My Immigrant Family & Yours: From Alienation to Assimilation.
While discussing the history of our family with my two adult sons I learned that they were unaware of the immigrant experiences of their three great-grandparents who emigrated to America in the 1890s or their maternal great-grandmother who was born on NYC to immigrants in during that same decade.
While reflecting on the current climate where the views of immigration range from embracement to rejection, I felt that knowing the experiences of our immigrant ancestors including the similarities of their experiences to today’s immigrants could help my sons have a greater understanding of our family’s history as well as the those seeking to live the American Dream today.
By reviewing our family “papers” and researching the immigrant experience since the mid-1600s, I learned that throughout our nation’s history, there has been consistency in the themes of opposition to immigration: “diluting American culture,” losing jobs to new arrivals, and concerns about the “hygiene,” “criminality,” spread of communicable diseases.
To give greater understanding to our respective family histories, I’ve developed an interactive learning opportunity: The Story of My Immigrant Family & Yours: From Alienation to Assimilation. By sharing my family’s path of successes, I share the story of immigration beginning in late 1600s including the large-scale European immigration beginning in the 1850s with the Irish potato famine that continued to the 1920s when Congress passed several immigration reform acts.
To not repeat the errors of the past, we must learn our nation’s history.
