On Friday, Nov. 12, Officer Chip Stalter stepped down from his position as a Special Law Enforcement Officer at Pascack Valley after seven years.

“I’m at that point in life [where] I’m looking for a little more freedom,” Stalter said.

Stalter has worked closely with the administration to make PV a safer place. Although much of the time he is seen monitoring the front desk, Stalter has spent a lot of time dealing with the lockdown procedures.

Among his duties were to secure the school as well as welcome students at the front door with a smile.

Stalter is enthusiastic to be taking on the role of a substitute teacher here at PV.

“I think [being a substitute] will make me closer to the students,” Stalter said. “[I’ll] get extended time in a classroom where now it’s just the passing, ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’, ‘have a good lunch’, whatever it is. Some kids will come by and chat or tell me what’s going on or complain about something. I’m hoping it will be a positive thing as far as getting to know the kids a little better.”

Stalter’s initial plan was to transition at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, however, after his duties as a PV officer were altered, he concluded that he would make the shift mid-year.

Along with the changes within the job, Stalter desired a position that would allow for more flexibility in his schedule.

“When I retired from the police department and [came] here, that was my first step towards retirement. It was good because I got the summers off, I got the school holidays off. My wife is a director of Hillsdale United Nursery School, she works the same schedule as the public schools, so we were off [at the same time].”

Over the course of his career, Stalter has been able to obtain experience with being a substitute teacher. He worked closely with well known PV substitute, Stephen Wells.

“I covered classes when [there was] a missing teacher or somebody had to leave unexpectedly,” Stalter said. “I’ve been telling some kids, ‘Yeah, I studied under Dr. Wells, I know everything I need to know about subbing.”

Stalter is thankful to be working at PV, he has a great appreciation for the staff and school itself especially after being exposed to many other institutions.

“I enjoyed my time at Pascack Valley [and] I hope you guys do [too],” Stalter said. “Sometimes I run into kids that I don’t think really appreciate what they have here. You really got a good deal here. Nothing’s perfect, but we have great faculty [and services here] so I hope everybody appreciates it.”