Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 13, 2024 CHANGE | FROM PAGE 1 terment of the local education system will be greatly missed. But Schools Superintendent Michael Hashem and other school officials have high expectations for the educator who will replace him: Dr. Carla Scuzzarella, a Saugus native who has spent more than three decades in the education profession. “She brings over 20 years of building based leadership experience and has already been working as the Associate Principal of the high school since July 1st,” Hashem told The Saugus Advocate. “She is embracing this new challenge and she is working on transitioning to the role of principal. We are excited about this change and we will work as a community to continue to move in a positive direction for our students,” he said. School Committee Chair Vincent Serino predicted Scuzzarella would be “a great principal” for the Middle-High School and help lead the school toward scholastic success. “Carla Scuzzarella is a great addition to our district,” Serino said. “She has been successful in every step of her professional career and I am sure this challenge will be no different. Carla and her family are a big part of the Saugus community and we are looking forward to her leadership and the knowledge she brings with her,” he said. “A hard decision to make” Sullivan has strong emotional and family ties to Saugus. He grew up here. His parents and most of his family still live in town. Saugus Public Schools was where his teaching career began. “I started in the fall of 2001 – just a 22-year-old teacher right out of college, I started just a few days before school started as a High School English teacher. I was on the job a week or two before 9-11 [The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks] happened,” Sullivan recalled in an interview this week. “I have spent more than half my life employed by Saugus Public Schools and I’m 45 now. I’m at the point in my career Lawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lien * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net where I wanted to try something different. It was a hard decision to make,” he said. Back in early summer, Sullivan saw the posting for the position of Assistant Principal for Humanities at Greater Lawrence Technical School. “It was an area I was interested in and one I had experience in. And I started thinking about my professional growth and family responsibilities,” Sullivan said. “I decided it was the right opportunity at the right time,” he said. There were also family considerations. Sullivan lives with his wife Bethany and their four sons in Amesbury, which is about a 32-mile commuting distance to Saugus. The distance between Amesbury and Lawrence is about half the mileage. He would also get to spend more time with his growing sons – two who are in High School (a sophomore who is 15 and a freshman who is 14), another in the fifth grade who is 10 and a son who turns three in a couple of weeks. “It’s going to be a pretty significant commuting distance,” Sullivan said. “I’ll have a little bit more time with my family and be able to go to my older kids’ high school events,” he said. A smooth transition Weighing in on Sullivan’s decision is the state of Saugus Middle-High School. “As I look at the team in place at Saugus Middle-High School, they’re in a good place,” Sullivan said. “I find Dr. Scuzzarella to be great, just in the few months I worked with her. And we have a new athletic director HE’S LEAVING: Saugus Middle-High School Principal Brendon Sullivan will work his final day today, Friday, Sept. 13. He’s been hired as the next Assistant Principal for Humanities at Greater Lawrence Technical School. (Saugus Advocate file photo by Mark E. Vogler) in place. I knew Matt [Serino] as a student here when I was a teacher. He’s a good guy and will be doing good things,” Sullivan said. He also praised other individual members of the Leadership Team and Middle-High School Complex. Sullivan lauded the work of David Micu, the Middle School Associate Principal; Kimberly Politano Burns, the High School Assistant Principal; Michelle Dwyer, the Middle School Assistant Principal of Culture and Climate; and Leanne Mottola, the Director of Guidance. “They’re doing great things at the Middle School. I feel good about the team and I’ll miss working with the team,” he said. Several School Committee members said they are confident that Scuzzarella will fill the void left by Sullivan once she becomes familiar with the Middle-High School Complex. “Dr. Scuzzarella will have a tall task at hand, considering she will be starting her tenure as principal minus one administrator,” School Committee Member Whittredge said. “I have no doubt that she will pave her own way as principal in ways we have not seen in a while. Although it’s tough to turn the page, I’m excited to see what the next few years bring for the kids and families of Saugus,” he said. School Committee Member Ryan Fisher noted Scuzzarella’s “deep roots in Saugus” as a lifelong resident who is a Saugus High School graduate. “She serves and loves this community already in countless ways, and we’re grateful CHANGE | SEE PAGE 15 For Advertising with RESULTS, call The Advocate Newspapers at 781-233-4446 or info@advocatenews.net
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