Saugus Superintendent of Schools Erin McMahon has taken another positive step on the path laid by town residents in 2017 when they voted to completely revamp local schools.
McMahon outlined for School Committee members her plan to put deans in the Veterans Early Learning Center, Belmonte STEAM Academy and Saugus Middle-High School.
The new hires would work with each school’s principal to foster a sense of community in the school. The town’s youngest students attend Veterans where, McMahon said, Principal Michael Mondello is the sole administrator. Deans would embrace a shared mission to support and promote positive student behavior in all schools.
Saugus took a bold educational step forward when voters endorsed a plan to scrap the traditional model of elementary schools educating and sending students to middle school and, finally, high school.
Secondary education in the town was consolidated in the state-of-the-art, middle-high school complex and elementary education was reorganized into a two-tier system with early learning at Veterans and science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) concentrated in Belmonte.
McMahon’s predecessor, Dr. David DeRuosi, translated the will of town voters into concrete and steel projects. McMahon, who was hired in May, did not rest on DeRuosi’s laurels. She set an audacious goal of pushing Saugus’ comprehensive assessment scores from their current place in the bottom 10 percent of statewide rankings to the top 10 percent by 2027.
She underscored that objective earlier this month by proposing a fiscal year 2023 school budget that is $1.45 million more than this academic year’s spending. Her plan to hire school deans will cost $225,000 and we think it is money well spent on fostering a community spirit in each school.
By promoting positive student behavior, the deans can apply the popular phrase “taking ownership” to the schools and motivate students to embrace their schools’ respective missions. They can go far beyond the traditional disciplinary role reserved for vice principals and instill in students an understanding that every student is a teacher who helps their peers excel.
Excellence lies at the end of the path laid out by town voters in 2017 and McMahon is demonstrating that she will not be deterred in her goal to move Saugus down that path.
