Frank Napier Jr. (August 8, 1935 – October 28, 2002) was an American former superintendent of the Paterson School District in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Joe Louis Clark, the notable and controversial former principal of Eastside High School. It was Napier who asked Clark to be the principal of Eastside High. Napier was portrayed by

Robert Guillaume Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer, known for his role as Benson DuBois in the ABC television series ''Soap'' and its spin-off, ''Benson'', as well as for voici ...

in the 1989 film, '' Lean on Me''.

Biography

Napier graduated from Paterson Central High School (since renamed as John F. Kennedy High School) in 1953. He earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degrees from

William Paterson University William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 and was named after American ju ...

and the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

conferred a Doctorate of Education degree upon him. Napier began his professional career in the Paterson school system as an elementary school teacher and coach. He was later a vice principal and then a principal. In 1972, Napier was appointed Assistant Superintendent of the Paterson school district. In 1976, he became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to be superintendent of the Paterson school district. He was ousted as superintendent in 1991. He served as an adjunct professor at

. He was also a counselor for the Passaic County Community College EOF Program. Napier was a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. He was also a member of the

William Paterson College William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 and was named after American ju ...

Alumni Association. Napier was also a life member of the Paterson branch of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

and the District Chairman of the

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

. Napier was

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

. He was married to Margaret E. Nottingham and they had three children: David, Darren and Dina. Napier died on October 28, 2002, at the age of 67. The cause of death was respiratory failure. There is a school, Dr. Frank Napier, Jr. School of Technology, that is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, Frank 1935 births 2002 deaths 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century American educators School superintendents in New Jersey John F. Kennedy High School (Paterson, New Jersey) alumni NAACP activists People from Paterson, New Jersey University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Education alumni William Paterson University alumni Baptists from Maryland Educators from New Jersey 20th-century Baptists 21st-century African-American people