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Date: 5/29/2015
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Just a week after it was announced Dr. Vito Perrone was hired to fill the role of West Springfield High School principal, he was formally introduced to the school district.
Perrone, as well as the new principals for West Springfield Middle School and Fausey Elementary School Peter Gillen and Myriam Ulloa-Skolnick, were introduced at the May 26 School Committee meeting.
Superintendent Michael Richard announced May 20 that Perrone had accepted the position. Richard said the decision between Perrone and Purnima Vadhera was a difficult one.
“As I mentioned many times in the past, oftentimes we end up with good problems to have and finding two very qualified people to run a high school of our size and with the complexities that are associated with it. We’re very fortunate,” Richard said. “The final decision really just came down to a feeling of with whom could I work better and for a longer time.”
Perrone has served as the Easthampton High School principal for the previous six years and, though the size and population of the schools differ, he said there are similarities between the Easthampton and West Springfield.
When he entered the doors of Easthampton High School, it was a Level 3 school. It is now at Level 1. The hope is that the trajectory for West Springfield High School, currently a Level 3 school, will be the same.
“I think the process is really going to be the same,” Perrone said. “When I came to Easthampton, I was tasked by the superintendent with some marching orders, and once I was in the building I got to know what was going on, where the strengths were and where opportunities for growth were. You have to identify both.”
Perrone said moving a school from Level 3 to Level 1 is not a one-man job and that doing so at West Springfield would be the same process, just on a different scale. It is about encouraging leadership from faculty and students.
“There’s opportunity for leadership and shared leadership within the building, whether its student leadership, faculty and staff,” Perrone said. “It’s about presenting them the opportunity to lead and take ownership.”
In addition to creating a team, Perrone said he needs to learn what West Springfield High School is all about from the inside out.
“I’m going to do a lot of listening, a lot of learning, seeing what’s going on in that building, and we’re going to take off,” Perrone said.
That has started with embedding himself in the West Springfield community before his post has even officially started. He has made appearances at the school for a guided tour, the dedication ceremony and an art show, which has impressed Richard.
“He is a guy who was going to be loyal to the district, loyal to the kids, he is really going to embed himself in West Springfield, and he’s already demonstrated that,” Richard said. “Right from the get go, he was showing up at events and bringing his family.”
In his interview, Perrone made it clear the decision to apply for another position was in large part for his family. Though he said it will be hard to leave Easthampton High School, the community was supportive of his decision.
“The fact that I’m walking away, considering leaving, became a finalist and am now the future principal of West Springfield, that was hard and it was sad. I had kids coming up to me saying they were going to miss me, and I will miss them too,” Perrone said. “They have been so supportive and understanding that I’m making a decision that’s best for me and my family. That says a lot about the people at Easthampton High School. I hope that I can sit in at West Springfield High School and form those same relationship and bonds.”
In order to do that, Perrone knows he needs to be visible to the community.
“There’s a lot of pride in that community for good reason,” Perrone said. “I can’t wait to be a part of it, but being a part of it is putting yourself out there.”
Richard said the “ability to bring people together” was a quality of Perrone’s that stood out in his interview, as well as being able to assess what is a necessity for the school.
“He demonstrated an ability to me to differentiate what needs to be address [from wants] and I think he’ll be able to complement the existing administration there and build on their strengths and use them to help propel the school forward.
The hiring of Perrone, Gillen and Ulloa-Skolnick represent a shift in the school district, Richard said. As the district collectively makes moves out of Level 3 standing, the new administrators gives West Springfield Public Schools fresh opportunity for growth.
“It’s an awesome and exciting time,” Richard said. “There’s a lot of things changing and it gives the district a fresh start in so many ways. To be able to build on the new, bring in new ideas and really help to shape the direction that we’re moving.”