Mary Camporeale said she was hired “purely by accident” and had no background in technology before working for the district. 

“I’ve never taken a computer science course or any kind of computer-related course,” Camporeale said. 

After working at the PVRHSD for 24 years, Camporeale, the Pascack Valley Regional High School District data services manager, is set to retire on Dec. 31. As the data services manager, she manages all the databases, including Genesis, the portal in which Pascack Valley students utilize to access their grades, and Canvas, a district-wide educational learning management system, along with state reporting. 

“It’s a pretty technical job that keeps me really busy,” Camporeale said. 

Camporeale originally went to a Catholic all-girls high school and majored in business management at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. She began her career by working in the marketing and strategic planning area at a bank for 12 years.

“While I was working at the bank, I got my master’s degree in finance,” Camporeale said. “Then I became pregnant and resigned. I had two children, and I decided I wanted to get back to the workforce in a small way once they started school. I didn’t want to go back to New York City because it was just too far and the commute was too long.”

Camporeale saw an announcement in The Record which said that the PVRHSD was hiring a part-time computer aid and decided to apply.

“I was called in and I said I knew how to type a Word document,” Camporeale said. “Then, I was hired.”

As a part-time computer aid, Camporeale worked in Room 221 in a classroom with 24 desktop computers. Mostly English and history teachers would reserve the room for their classes.

“[The computers] didn’t have any network connection or student logins,” Camporeale said. “I sat there so there was paper in the printer and made sure every student had a floppy disk. I had a whole bunch of them in my desk drawer to save their work and print after they typed an essay.”

Once the district switched to laptops after 10 years, Camporeale began servicing the laptops for the student body by completing inventory management, repairing computers, and helping teachers and students with software. After eight to nine years, Camporeale transitioned from the technical field to data services.

“As technology grew, the job grew, and I grew with it,” Camporeale said. “I came in at the right time — I learned as everybody else learned, and that’s how I progressed with the different jobs in the district throughout the years.”

As a former Hillsdale resident, Camporeale’s children attended PV. Her son, a 2005 graduate, played football, basketball, and ran track, and her daughter, a 2006 graduate, swam and played tennis. 

“Because I was here and my work day was over when the school day was over, I got to go to all of their sporting events and go through that state of their lives,” Camporeale said. “They had the full Pascack Valley experience.”

Camporeale decided she wanted to spend more time with her three grandchildren and had already completed the required amount of time that made her eligible for retirement. 

“[My family] just got a second house in Delaware on the coast,” Camporeale said. “I want to be able to relax and enjoy things a little bit more.”

While working for the district, Camporeale enjoyed the work, the people she worked with, and interacting with students from both Pascack Hills and PV on a daily basis. She said she worked closely with the PVRHSD Director of Technology and Communication Paul Zeller and her former supervisor, Erik Tush, who both “nurtured” her throughout her time.

“She puts the school, kids, and the district [first],” Zeller said. “The fact that she can garner that much respect from so many different people speaks volumes to the person she is, and I will miss her terribly.”

Zeller said most people in the district have “no idea who she is and what she does,” despite her working on the gradebook and Canvas courses. 

“Mrs. Caporeale has influenced me to always look at things from at least one other perspective,” Zeller said. “She has me look from a parent perspective, a state perspective, and an administrator perspective. It helps find solutions that work for all of us rather than one individual or one group of individuals.”

The district has hired Maria Valentino from Old Tappan, the Secretary to the Business Administrator, for Camporeale’s position. 

“She’s going to be fantastic and she has school-based experience,” Camporeale said. “I have to say I was really happy for the time I was here. It’s been a positive experience all around being with the people that make up this district.”