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Date: 7/7/2022
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Vito Perrone took office July 1 as interim superintendent of the West Springfield School Department.
Perrone replaces Tim Connor, under whom he previously served as assistant superintendent. Connor announced his resignation in May to take a leadership position at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Perrone, who has been an educator for the past 20 years, says he hopes to continue on the work Connor began.
“As curriculum director, we had a shared vision of what we wanted to do at the high school,” said Perrone, who was previously principal of West Springfield High School. “This later broadened to the entire district. I want to continue that vision that Tim and I collaborated on,” he continued.
Perrone’s journey towards the superintendency has been unconventional. After playing Division I football while earning a degree in physical education at UMass-Amherst, he moved to Pescara, Italy, and played in a professional American football league for four years. While overseas, he began coaching little league, and credits that experience for beginning of his career in education.
Upon returning to the states, he went back to school to earn a bachelor of education degree in English from Central Connecticut University, before relocating to Nevada, where he worked for 15 years teaching in both the public school system and the prison system. He describes his time teaching Chaucer, Shakespeare and Machiavelli to inmates as “one of the most satisfying aspects” of his teaching career.
In 2009 Perrone returned to Massachusetts, working first at Easthampton High School before becoming principal of West Springfield High School.
“I think the state does a fantastic job with their curriculum guidelines,” said Perrone. “If you look up at how Massachusetts stacks up compared to the rest of the world, we’re the best.”
Testing scores from Massachusetts students who took Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam in 2015 — the most recent year for which data is available — back up Perrone’s statement. Science scores were higher than any participating country except Singapore, and reading scores put the state in an eight-way tie for first. Mathematics literacy was higher than the national average, but not measurably different than the global average.
While interim superintendent, Perrone hopes to work on “resetting” after the disruption the coronavirus pandemic had on students’ education, and preparing high schoolers for success after graduation.
“We have to be cognizant of the needs of all of our students, and do the best we can to offer them the most effective education possible,” said Perrone, adding that he hopes to expand dual enrollment classes and the school’s Innovation Pathways partnership with Springfield Technical Community College.
The School Committee plans to conduct a state-wide search for a new permanent superintendent over the next year, and will consider Perrone among other applicants.
“I have worked with Vito my whole time as mayor, and look forward to continuing that work with him in his role as interim,” said Mayor William Reichelt, who chairs the School Committee. “I know he loves this community, is passionate about his work, and a knowledgeable leader. I expect him to do well in this new role, which would be a good indicator for the committee’s decision next year.”