Somerville schools search for new principals

By Danielle Dreilinger, Globe correspondent

In a significant shakeup, four of Somerville’s seven elementary schools will have new principals this fall.

The Healey, Brown, Argenziano, and West Somerville Neighborhood School all will have new leadership when school opens in the fall.

On March 4, the City of Boston tapped Mike Sabin of the Healey School to take over the Paul Dever Elementary School, designated underperforming by the state. On the same day, it was announced that Thelma Davis of the Brown School was taking over for retiring principal Pauline Lampropoulos at the West Somerville Neighborhood School. Dorothy Rudolph of the Argenziano School announced her retirement last fall, said school department spokeswoman Gretchen Kinder.

The Healey School has had four principals in five years, Kinder added, an "issue we’re very attentive to."

Superintendent Tony Pierantozzi met with Argenziano parents and staff March 8 and with Brown stakeholders March 11. Each of the three searches will have a different team, Kinder said, in part because "the populations of the schools are so different."

The school district has controlled-choice enrollment; which means students don’t have to attend the nearest school. Brown is the city’s oldest and smallest elementary school, a close-knit community of 255 students, according to state Department of Education statistics. The Argenziano has almost twice as many students, and enrollment has steadily increased since its new school building opened in 2007. It’s also designed to be more diverse, Kinder said, housing the district’s Sheltered English Immersion Program for English-language learners.

The Healey has the CHOICE program - mixed-year, project-based classes - and is the neighborhood school for many children living in the Mystic housing development.

Somerville has advertised all three positions. Kinder said the goal is to get new leaders in place by the beginning of June to ease the transitions.

For more information, contact the superintendent’s office at 617 625-6600, ext. 6005.