Jack Lorenz, former Ridgewood principal, remembered as ‘agent of change’
December 4, 2014 Last updated: Thursday, December 4, 2014, 1:40 PM
By By Jodi Weinberger
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News
At the celebration of the Learning Commons last month, when the lengthy project to upgrade the high school’s library was deemed complete, Jack Lorenz was smiling from his home in Alabama.
“It was his vision and his dream,” said Tina Telesco, a parent involved with the Home and School Association (HSA). “When we called him for the ribbon cutting, he actually cried on the phone. He was pretty sick at the time and he said ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’
“So many other principals and leaders are so worried about their image and the politics and everything,” Telesco continued. “Jack’s only care in the world was about the students.”
Lorenz, the beloved principal who served Ridgewood High School from 2006-2011, died Saturday. He was 69. He is survived by his wife, Karen, and sons, Jake and Matthew.
To say that students and parents in Ridgewood loved Lorenz would only be telling half the story; Lorenz was an educator who truly loved the community back.
David Zrike first met Lorenz about four years ago when he was driving by a high school Sweet 16 party where many teens were being arrested for drinking.
“It was sickening, so I decided to call him to see if there was something we could do to stop that trend,” Zrike recalled. “Within 10 minutes he called me back, he asked for me to come meet him, and from there we established Backwoods.”