August 29, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 7 FLOW Area ‘Man of history’ to leave regional school district by Frank J. McMahon Henry “Hank” Bitten, the social studies subject supervisor and director of University Programs at Indian Hills High School, will be retiring from the Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School District on Sept. 30 to spend more time with his three young grandchildren. Bitten announced his retirement in June, but the district extended his employment until Sept. 30 as the intra-district transition supervisor to provide him time to assist in the transition of the department to a new supervisor. The extension will also allow him time to consider college applications for his students and to schedule program speakers and future field trips. Bitten received a bachelor’s degree in history in 1968 from Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois. He received his M.Ed. degree in education in 1970, and he has a six-year certificate toward his doctorate degree in history and education at New York University. He joined the regional school district 1990 as history supervisor at Ramapo High School after spending 10 years in the Ridgewood School District, where his students won five state titles and three national titles while he was a National Forensic Debate Coach at Ridgewood High School. Henry ‘Hank’ Bitten He also spent 11 years at Martin Luther High School in Queens, New York, where he started the school as a nursery school and helped it grow into a full elementary school. In 1997, he transferred to Indian Hills High School to become the supervisor of the social studies department. Bitten started the district’s Writing Center program along with Indian Hills English teacher John Ianacone. The Writing Center began as a pilot program during the 1994-95 school year and was open five periods a day to provide support, encouragement, instruction, and a responsive (continued on page 17)