If employees got grades, she deserved an 'A'

When Lois Hagelstein passed away a few weeks ago, Gloucester County's 28 school districts lost a much-loved, highly respected woman whose peerless expertise in the sometimes confusing arena of teacher and administrator certification has been roundly acknowledged by educators. Her attention to detail and sincere approach to her job may not have been universally known on the outside, but on the inside, everyone knew. She was the brightest of stars in county education.

"Lois was probably the most knowledgeable person in New Jersey at her level," says Dr. Peter B. Contini, county superintendent of schools. "She was a dynamic individual, a self-starter, and very caring. She approached people as though their problem were the only ones.

"The loss is that she was a walking encyclopedia of information about the field. Her duties will be absorbed, but her knowledge will have to be replaced."

A resident of Clayton, Lois was examiner of education credentials for county schools for 19 years. Her primary assignment was to collect materials and process all requests for permanent or emergency certification.

"Lois had a major impact," says Nicholas A. Mitcho, Glassboro public schools superintendent "In this business, you have to check to see to see if teachers are certified if they come to you from out of state. Lois would work us through the paperwork bureacracy. She was our contact with the Trenton credentialing bureau, and there's no doubt she was the expert in the county in that field. She recognized your problem right away. And if she didn't have the information, she'd say, 'OK, I'll get it.' She was a beautiful human being."

"She made a complicated procedure very simple, which helped not only the prospective teachers, but the districts as well," says Boyd A. Sands, Southern Gloucester County Regional High School (Delsea) superintendent. "I always thought of her as our advocate in the county office. Whatever she indicated to us in terms of the right route to go, it was always right on the mark."

"She was a student of the certification process. If I had any questions during the 16 years I've been at Delsea, I'd call her. As each new wrinkle in the certification came along, she was on top of it.

"She could also put it in layman's terms. To those who don't understand certification, it becomes very confusing. I wouldn't want to count the number of times I called Lois before making a decision. If she said 'OK,' I knew it was OK. Somehow, she knew the needs of every district.

"During meetings we've had with administrators from other counties, we've heard some horrible war stories about certification. But lois made the process very simple. We've told other superintendents, 'We don't have any problems, maybe you should call Lois.' She was just great."

"No matter what question I came up with, she almost always had the answer, and if she didn't, she'd get back to me right away," said Kathy Coblentz, Sands' secretary. "She was great fun to get along with and very helpful."

"She was tremendously patient and always had the answer," said Teri Begley, secretary to West Deptford Superintendent Charles McNally. "A lot of strange things come up in certification procedures, but she was well versed at her job. She's the one everyone called with their problems. And you always felt that she could solve it."

"She knew the ins and outs," said Natalie Gormly, special assistant to the superintendent in Washington Township. "She was always there to help out you. We're going to miss her."

Long-time Gloucester county College faculty member and former department chair Mike Lindner recalls Lois' work as advisor to GCC's education majors.

"Her personal interest in education and ability to relate so well to people brought her the highest respect imaginable," Lindner said.

Contini worked closely with Lois on the local administrator level before becoming her supervisor in the county office.

"If Lois had a liability, it was she cometimes became too concerned for the outcome of an individual and it frustrated her," Contini says. "But she was genuine in her concern."

"She was a very quiet person in her job and very unassuming unless districts had direct contact with her. Although she didn't have the academic degree, she was highly skillful and was sophisticated in her understanding of college requirements and working on college transcripts. If lois came to me with a recommendation for action, it took me very little time to review and adopt it. She treated her position with respect."

"As important as she was to the office, the biggest loss is her personality. She saw the positive things, was energetic, was a role model who was a good influence on new arrivals in the office, and was the kind of person who, at 4:30, had to be reminded to go home. It was routine for her to skip lunch if she wanted to finish something to help someone.

"Lois had a great personal touch with people. She was just a great gal."