On April 5 of this school year, Dr. Jill Ann Takacs joined the SBSD administration as the Interim Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, filling the position left vacant by Dr. Evelyn Mamman, who officially resigned on December 1 to become Superintendent of East Brunswick School District. The Board has approved Dr. Takacs through at least the end of the 26-27 academic year.
Originally, nine candidates applied for the position from both in and out of the district, with multiple rounds of interviews of different forms with current administrative staff. Dr. Bragen told The Viking Vibe that for an interim position, SBSD needed “someone who had curriculum and instruction experience, somebody that also had a doctorate, and that had previously been a school principal, because if you’re gonna oversee our certain principals, it’s hard to do that, had you not been a principal.” With a Master’s in creative arts education from Rutgers, and a Master’s and Doctorate in educational leadership in addition to broad administrative experience, Dr. Takacs had the right qualifications that Dr. Bragen was looking for.
Dr. Takacs recalled: “In North Brunswick, when I was the math science coordinator and the literacy coordinator, that was where I started. That was where my love of curriculum began. And I’ve had several roles as director of curriculum, and this same role, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, when I was in Middletown. So this was a really nice fit for me to come back to New Jersey, come back to Middlesex County, and reconnect with a lot of colleagues that I’ve worked with in the past.”
Dr. Takacs started her college education at East Stroudsburg University, where she was a gymnast. Coincidentally, early in her career, she coached at North Brunswick Township High School while SBHS Physical Education Teacher and Gymnastics Coach Mrs. Heidi Henning was a student there. Dr. Takacs also had prior professional connections with Dr. Bragen, working as Director of Curriculum and Instruction when he was Assistant Superintendent in the Hazlet, NJ school district for about four years.
Dr. Takacs has established her experience, serving as an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in the Middletown, NJ school district. In 2015, she received the Governor’s Educational Services Professionals Award and was recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education during her time there.
For the past decade, Dr. Takacs was the superintendent in the Jenkintown, PA school district. During that time, she managed virtual options during the pandemic and applied sustainable English curricula amidst budget concerns (a problem SBSD knows all too well). In September of 2025, she went on temporary paid leave, planning on retiring when her contract ended in August of 2026, according to the Jenkintown district. When she began her current role in South Brunswick this past April, the end date of her leave was moved to coincide with her start date in South Brunswick.
When discussing Dr. Takacs’ transition out of the Jenkintown school district, Dr. Bragen explained, “At some point, the [Jenkintown] board wanted to go in a different direction. And that happens sometimes, especially at the superintendent level, if you’ve been doing this for a long time. I think her record speaks for itself. It was just a mutual parting where they thought they were going in different directions. So I was totally aware of it. I know of her work product. I know who she is, and I did share that with our team here.”
In a public statement from 2025, Jenkintown School Board President Dr. Megan O’Brien stated, “This Board is proud of the progress the District has made under Superintendent Takacs’s leadership, and condemns efforts to disparage Superintendent Takacs through rumor or innuendo and affirms its appreciation for the progress the District has achieved under her leadership.”
Dr. Takacs reflected on her departure from Jenkintown in a statement to The Viking Vibe, saying “I had an ethical responsibility to ensure the safety and welfare of the students entrusted to my care. I consistently led with student-centered decision making, guided by what was best for students. Educational leadership sometimes requires making difficult and courageous decisions, particularly when the interests or preferences of some adults do not fully align with the best interests of children.”
Dr. Takacs has already found her footing in SBSD. At the elementary level, Dr. Takacs is overseeing the rollout of modern language arts textbooks to go along with three new pilot programs in the fall, in addition to updates in the K-5 science curriculum. At the high school level, she and Dr. Bragen reconvened the district-wide AI committee, integrating valuable student perspectives into discussions with teachers and administration about how to implement such advanced technology and account for its effects in the classroom. She is also pushing for more dual enrollment classes for SBHS students in partnership with Middlesex Community College and Mercer County College, including classes for robotics, culinary arts, and business. As part of this process, Dr. Takacs is exploring the possibilities for students to earn official certificates or even associate’s degrees through the colleges, which would allow for students with specialized interests to gain knowledge and experience beyond SBHS’s career and subject tracks.
In the few months that she has been in South Brunswick, Dr. Takacs has already been taking initiatives across all grade levels, and next year is bound to bring more as she works to shape the future of South Brunswick’s schools.
