High school auditorium dedicated to Borelli

BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

Vincent J. Borelli LONG BRANCH –– The auditorium of the city high school was dedicated Tuesday to the late arts educator Vincent J. Borelli.

Borelli, who taught in the Long Branch public school system for 32 years, died on April 20, succumbing to cancer.

He was head of the Long Branch High School Visual and Performing Arts Department, director of the Westwood Players and founder of the Long Branch High School Forensic Team.

The auditorium was dedicated in memory of Borelli at a ceremony held on Jan. 17. Borelli’s two daughters were expected to open the ceremony by singing the national anthem followed by a selection by the high school band.

Board of Education President Lucille Perez was scheduled to read the resolution officially naming the auditorium in memory of Borelli and then a plaque was to be unveiled outside of the high school.

When Borelli retired in 2005, he was recognized as one of the state’s leading arts educators.

Superintendent of Schools Joseph M. Ferraina said the dedication was a very exciting time for the school district.

“Mr. Borelli was a great educator,” Ferraina said in an interview Friday. “He was very dedicated and incredibly known for his ability in the arts.”

“He was not only able to reach his students while they were in school, but he had a way of staying in touch with his students after they left,” he said.

During his teaching career, Borelli received numerous awards. He was the recipient of the Speech and Theater’s Association of New Jersey’s Distinguished Achievement Award in 1990, the Greater Long Branch NAACP’s Freedom Award in 1993 and was named Educator of the Year by the Long Branch High School Student Council in 1989 and 1996.

He also received the Outstanding Teacher of Speech and Theater Award in 1988 from the Speech and Theater Association and was recognized as Teacher of the Year in 1988 and 2000 representing Long Branch High School and the Long Branch Public School as District Teacher of the Year.

In 1998, Borelli and his wife Angela, were selected as Man and Woman of the Year by the Figli di Colombo for their dedication in educating the students of Long Branch.

And in 1999, the New Jersey Forensic League voted Borelli the Outstanding Teacher of Speech Arts. In May of 2000, Borelli won his fourth Governors Award in Arts Education as Outstanding Educator of the Year.