Brendan McIsaac is seeking a leadership position to lead curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development. He currently serves as the English Supervisor for Hunterdon Central Regional High School where he has transformed the department and curriculum. He has also led numerous district initiatives around eliminating exams, arts integration, and data analysis. McIsaac has extensive experience in curriculum development, instructional coaching, and managing budgets while improving student performance.

1. BRENDAN R. McISAAC
8 Busher Place
Clinton, New Jersey 08809
(908) 730-7554 (home);(908) 752-9147 (cell); brendanmcisaac@gmail.com
e-portfolio - https://sites.google.com/a/hcrhs.org/brendan-mcisaac/
Goal: Collaborate with a creative and innovative administrative team and staff to lead a school in a
progressive vision of student learning & achievement encompassing curriculum, instruction &
assessment redesign; infused technology; and ongoing professional development.
English Supervisor HUNTERDON CENTRAL REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL July 2007-Present
Department Level Vision
• Hire, schedule, evaluate, and encourage a department of 31 to experiment, reflect, share, and grow
as practitioners while maintaining consistently high levels of student success.
• Championed instructional shift to emphasize student-centered workshops valuing choice,
collaboration, inquiry, and synthesis.
• Through departmental professional reading, risk-taking, and collaborative peer sharing, I have
transformed a department of independent practitioners into a high performing team utilizing reading
and writing workshops, guided inquiry, literature circles, Socratic seminars, student choice
independent reading, video essays, blogging, electronic portfolios, art-infused instruction, standards
based grading, habits of mind, and 1 to 1 chromebook use that explores blended models of
individualized learning.
• Evolved curriculum and program to feature student-choice literature electives; blog based courses &
global citizen literature with strong interdisciplinary connections emphasizing memoirs from other
nations, non-fiction on current global problems, and proposing solutions.
• Coordinate curriculum gap analyses, curriculum mapping, and literacy across the curriculum.
District Level Vision
• Facilitated district DEAC in eliminating traditional midterm and final exams as well as the elimination of
marking periods thus affording more instructional days and opportunities for student growth.
• As a district leader, I have championed, taught, or turn-key trained staff on the connected action
roadmap state initiative, arts-infused instruction, the development of electronic portfolios, response to
intervention, literacy across the curriculum, understanding by design, formative assessment, project
based learning, and the Danielson framework.
• Led the revision of district summer learning to emphasize inquiry, creativity, and cross disciplinary
connections. Currently leading revision team for district wide roll out.
• Leading district efforts with Arts-Infused Instruction – entering third year of plan.
• Facilitated grant application for Little Libraries Workplace Readiness program.
• Excellent proactive communicator who authors department, district, and community communications.
Data and Performance
• Led department in 100% expansion of AP enrollment through horizontal and vertical articulation.
• Used data, student work analysis, and PLCs to consistently raise HSPA advanced proficiency levels
to the 50%-60% range.
• Proactively modeled curriculum and assessment design to embed skills resulting in first year PARCC
success superior to DFG average.
• Closed HSPA performance gap for ED, SPED, and Hispanic students through cross departmental
articulation and collaboration with the association in the creation of an academic lab. Have met or
exceeded all targets since.
• Conceived and developed PARCC data visualizations with IT department and instructed staff in their
use to analyze class trends, student performance, and inform course level PLC conversations.
• Conceived and developed data sets to study the impact of the elimination of traditional exams, shift to
the A/B schedule, the use of traditional grade categories versus standards based categories & the
identification of students not meeting graduation testing requirements.

2. Board of Education
• Strategic planning including district goal setting & budgeting; 1 to 1 Ipad & Chromebook initiatives;
full-day kindergarten; math program adoption; Lucy Calkins units of study PD; developing maker
spaces; and service-learning opportunities.
• Interim & full-time superintendent search, hiring & evaluation.
• Successful negotiations, referendum, and facilities projects.
• Parent group liaison, Policy, Community communications, and fundraising.
Culture of Learning
• Inspire and promote excellence in a collegial and creative English department recognized with two
teachers of the year, ten nominees, two county teachers of the year, nine presenters at national
conferences, sixteen advanced degrees, and teachers of over twenty professional workshops.
• Fifteen years experience with district PD committee/ScIP– needs assessment, budgeting, recruitment,
summer ETTC program design, in-service instruction, design, hiring, and effectiveness surveys.
• Spearheaded systemic district inclusion in NJPSA/Dodge arts infused instruction grant entering its
third year and impacting the practice of 100 teachers.
• Initiated district involvement in state CAR pilot in advance of state board adoption and preparing for
district wide PD on effective PLC curricular conversations.
• Developed project based math/English blended summer enrichment for struggling students.
• Promote and coordinate cross disciplinary conversations using PARCC data.
• District liaison with TCNJ Professional Development School Network – coordinate Teachers as
Scholars PD offerings, DOE articulation, accreditation, and district involvement in student teacher
placements and hiring.
Management of the Organization
• Led and managed successful elimination of traditional exams and marking periods during a district
schedule change while maintaining student performance through strategic PLC conversations,
curriculum revision, best practice sharing, data analysis, revised homework policies, and exploration
of habits category.
• Have managed successful reduction in force, seven years of reduced or zero based budgeting,
curricular consolidation, and staff reassignment while enhancing department use of technology and
student support systems (RTI, summer blended learning, academic lab).
Collaboration (School, Community, County, State)
• Collaborated with other districts to develop high school RTI including family communications and
reduce number of classifications.
• Working with NJPSA to advise third year of Arts-Infused Instruction Dodge grant.
• Piloting DOE’s Connected Action Roadmap.
• State Model Curriculum team - Grade level designer.
• Continue to work with county ELA supervisors and county office on graduation alternative assessment
and portfolio process.
• Worked with math department & association to create project based interdisciplinary summer
enrichment class as well as academic support lab for struggling students.
• Developed, advertised, recruited, and administered successful summer enrichment academy earning
thousands for district while providing unique summer learning for middle school age students.
• Have involved district with the United Nations CTAUN initiative to align junior curriculum with UN
Global Goals for Sustainable Development.
• Hunterdon Central Administrators Association – Vice President
• Five years Board of Education - Clinton Public Schools
Integrity
• Recognition - NJPSA Visionary Supervisor of the Year 2014.
• Strong and supportive relations with all supervisors, teachers, and staff.

3. • Successfully coached low-performing staff out of profession as well as improved the practice of
struggling staff.
• Closed performance gaps in underperforming sub-groups and eliminated school’s “SINI” status.
• Increased student access to honors and AP courses.
• Brought rigorous curricular design and student choice to program offerings at all levels.
• Lead department in successful support of district initiatives and practices.
• Involve stakeholders in district and department initiatives.
• Revised district articulation as PLC engaged in 6-12 common writing prompts, writing program
alignment, Common Core alignment and PARCC preparation, unit and assessment design analysis,
best practice sharing and visitations.
English Teacher HUNTERDON CENTRAL REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL Sept. 1997- June 2006
Taught all grade levels including AP Literature, AP Language & HSPA remediation. Teaching style
emphasized humanities, inquiry, reading and writing workshop & portfolios; ICS & team teaching, arts-
infused instruction, student-centered learning & student created assessments.
Leadership work included Shared Decision Making executive committee; Professional Development
Committee – Chairman; Mentor Committee; No Child Left Behind Committee; Technology Committee;
Superintendent Advisory/Quality Management Committee; HCRHSEA Executive Committee – Vice
President; Corresponding Secretary; Vertical Teaming- Chairman; Mentor; Club Advisor.
HILLSIDE HIGH SCHOOL, Hillside, NJ Jan. 1995 – June 1997
CLINTON/GLEN GARDNER BOARD OF EDUCATION, Clinton, NJ Jan. 2013 - Present
Board President – Second term
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
NJEXCEL – School Administrator Certification NJ School Administrator (CE)
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY - Master of Education (3.96) Principal (CE); Supervisor
DREW UNIVERSITY - Master of Letters (4.13)
KEAN UNIVERSITY - Secondary English Certification (4.0) Teacher of English; Elementary
Bachelor of Arts English (3.96)
PRESENTATIONS
Understanding PARCC results and using PARCC data; Inquiry & Interdisciplinary Learning Fair;
Danielson Training & District Led Inquiries on Eliminating Midterm/Final Exams; Rethinking the
Summer Assignment; National School Boards Association: Transforming a District from Within;
Professional Development Seminars on Questioning & Discussion Strategies; Common Core &
PARCC; Understanding by Design; Formative Assessment; Project-Based Learning; Close Reading &
Text Sets; Analyzing Informational Text; Best Practices in Language Arts; Classroom Management;
Lesson Planning for Block Scheduling.
ACTIVITIES Hiking; Running; Filmmaking; Music; Screenwriting
REFERENCES
John Fenimore – Director of Curriculum, Hunterdon Central Regional High School
Dr. Lisa Brady – Superintendent, Dobbs Ferry School District
Dr. Carol Kelly – Superintendent, Oak Park Elementary School District 97
Charles Sampson – Board Member, Clinton & Superintendent, Freehold Regional High School District