Delran High School Principal Brian Stolarick is approaching the 2026-27 school year with a focus on making students feel welcome, encouraging them to get involved and continuing to build a strong sense of Bear Pride.
A more than 26-year employee of the Delran Board of Education, Stolarick began his career in the district as a history teacher at Delran High School. He also coached football and basketball and served as an advisor before becoming a curriculum supervisor, assistant principal and eventually principal.
“I am incredibly proud to have my current position and I am grateful to work with the staff, students, and families of Delran Township,” he said.
Among the changes students will notice this fall is a completely renovated library and media center featuring new furniture, lighting, computers and flooring, as well as a flexible area for classroom instruction, presentations and meetings. The Delran PTA also revamped the school’s athletic hallway last spring with a mural incorporating authentic photographs from more than 50 years of Delran High School yearbooks.
Stolarick believes both projects will give students improved spaces while strengthening school pride.
The school is also adapting to New Jersey’s new restrictions on cell phones and other distracting electronic devices during the school day. Delran High School and Delran Middle School students will use pouches to secure their phones and other devices, keeping the pouches in their backpacks until they leave school.
Stolarick said he is interested to see how the change affects academic performance and students’ face-to-face social interactions.
Two additional priorities will guide the school year: improving student attendance and strengthening classroom instruction.
Administrators are planning incentives to encourage better attendance, including ice-cream celebrations for students who meet attendance benchmarks. The school is also exploring a partnership with a Philadelphia professional sports team that could give students with exceptional attendance an opportunity to win tickets.
Academically, teachers will focus on increasing the use of formative assessments during lessons. The goal is to give educators a clearer understanding of what students comprehend so they can adjust instruction accordingly.
Those priorities build on what Stolarick viewed as successes throughout the previous school year, when students demonstrated accomplishments not only academically but through theater, music, art and athletics.
For students entering Delran High School for the first time, Stolarick’s advice is straightforward: Get involved and give your best effort.
The school offers clubs, activities and sports designed to give students opportunities to find a place where they belong. In the classroom, Stolarick encourages students to complete their assignments and avoid zeros, emphasizing that consistent effort can help overcome difficulties in subjects that may not come naturally.
That emphasis on belonging also shapes the atmosphere Stolarick wants students to encounter each morning.
“I hope to convey to each and every student that we are happy they came to school every single day,” he said.
Music plays in the cafeteria before school, and on Friday afternoons Stolarick tries to send students into the weekend with a humorous – and sometimes “corny” – dad joke.
Above all, he wants students to recognize the impact their attitude can have on those around them.
“A smile and mindset can positively change the world,” Stolarick said.
That philosophy reflects what he believes makes Delran special: dedicated educators and coaches, students from diverse backgrounds who come together as one community, and families whose passion for the district helps sustain its identity.
Whether at homecoming, a pep rally, in the classroom or on the athletic field, Stolarick hopes that connection will continue to strengthen throughout the new school year and move the Delran High School brand in a positive direction.
