New Saugus superintendent vows to be accessible to community

SAUGUS – Collaboration, community involvement and accessibility are just some of the goals new Saugus Schools Superintendent Michael Tempesta said he wants to implement as he continues to meet with town officials.Speaking to reporters in his office recently, Tempesta, 48, said he “continues to be impressed” with the people he’s met so far, which includes, principals, administrators, department heads and Town Meeting members.?In terms of the entry plan, I’ve met with a nice cross section of people …” said Tempesta, who has been at the helm for two weeks now. “Just how positive everyone is, hopeful going forward to try and create other opportunities for students in the schools. People have just been very friendly and sincere in extending a great welcome to me. It’s almost a little bit overwhelming.”Tempesta said he’s also met with Town Manager Scott Crabtree to talk about collaborating on school goals, which he said is something the two plan to do regularly.?I like to, whenever possible, have face-to-face meetings,” said Tempesta, who is married with three children. “I’m the new person. I want to extend out to them and get an idea of their expectations and goals and work together to that. Mr. Crabtree has been very receptive to that as has everyone ? Everyone right down the line has been very open-door.”But Tempesta said his face time isn’t just for town officials. Once school starts, Tempesta said his goal is to spend at least a few hours a day “in buildings” so he can get a feel for “education and the teaching and learning that’s going on in the Saugus community.”?One thing that I’m going to try as a new superintendent is I’m going to definitely be in buildings, in classrooms, in and around the school community as often as I can be …” he said. “I think it’s important that teachers and administrators and parents and students see me as accessible and responsible to their needs.”One issue that has come up during recent School Committee meetings is a lack of timely response from past Superintendent Richard Langlois to residents. Tempesta said he’s going to look at the issue and wants focus on “public relations with the community” when there are concerns that need attention.?Those are natural places that we’re going to start,” said Tempesta. “They’ll be the topic of discussion when all the principals are back and we start meeting for training. One topic that came up (at Thursday’s School Committee meeting), was students’ access to sports and extracurricular programs being a little prohibitive with the fees. Those are concerns I want to hear from parents, I want to hear from students and the coaches or drama teachers or whoever it’s impacting and listen to those concerns and try to address them.”Tempesta said he has spent the last two weeks assessing and prioritizing “the needs of the district” and will focus on providing the necessary resources for students and teachers. He also will be looking at the district improvement plan, which, after being implemented in 2011, is in it final year.?We’ll be working as administrative teams to look at those goals and see what’s been realized and look at what we need to continue to work on,” said Tempesta. “I also want to make sure that we are maintaining and trying to educate students and trying to create 21st century learners. I want to make sure that we are providing not only the resources and hardware for those things like with the Chromrebooks ? but we have the training and professional development to consistently use those to the capacity that we can.”So far Tempesta said nothing has surprised him about the job, and thanked Langlois for helping him with a smooth transition. But one thing he said has been “refreshing and invigorating” about Saugus, has been the “spirit” of the people he’s met when it comes to education.?They’re excited about education in Saugus,” said Tempesta. “Everyone I talk to really is doing what they can to have the best opportunities out there for kids. That’s th