RHS tabs Woonsocket educator as its new principal

Adios Woonsocket.

Dr. Lourenço Garcia will succeed David DeRuosi as principal of Revere High School

Dr. Lourenço Garcia will succeed David DeRuosi as principal of Revere High School

Or, should we say, Au Revoir Woonsocket, or maybe even Nasvidenje Woonsocket (Russian).

Whatever the language, new Revere High School (RHS) principal Lourenço Garcia – fluent in numerous languages – has the capability of using it to bid farewell to his old school and hello to RHS.

Revere Public Schools administrators made the official decision Monday that Woonsocket (RI) High School Principal Dr. Lourenço Garcia will be the next principal at RHS, succeeding Dr. David Deruosi.

Superintendent Paul Dakin said that Garcia is a promising talent in the education world and he edged out in-district candidate John Macero, who is the principal of the Whelan Elementary.

“Urban education is in his blood, and that’s especially evident in his schooling,” said Dakin. “It’s what he’s worked for and we think he’s a good fit…It was a difficult decision between John Macero and Dr. Garcia. Part of it was John Macero saw Dr. Lourenço’s qualifications and was ready to pull out. John is content and at peace where he is and he was happy to see another strong guy come into the system. That really helped push our decision for Dr. Lourenço over the edge – that John’s own thinking was he was content to stay at the Whelan.”

Garcia emerged a few weeks ago as the top choice of the appointed search committee. The administrative team evaluating Garcia and Macero took another few weeks.

Dakin said that Garcia is working out the details of his departure at Woonsocket and is also ironing out a contract with Revere this week. He’ll be ready to start very soon.

Garcia grew up in Angola and Cape Verde and started his career in Brockton teaching social studies. He moved on to become an assistant principal in Pawtucket, and from there took the principal job in Woonsocket.

Woonsocket has an enrollment of 6,300 students district wide, and has a high school enrollment of 1,870 – very comparable to Revere.

He has his doctorate degree from UMass – Boston, and has even studied for a time at a university in the Ukraine.

Lost in the shuffle of qualifications and degrees, though, is the fact that Garcia will be the first Cape Verdean American principal ever at RHS. He might even be the first minority principal ever in the entire Revere school system.

However, Dakin said that really had nothing to do with the hire, and the occasion isn’t really being marked that closely.

“He’s certainly a complement to the diverse population we serve,” said Dakin. “Being multi-lingual doesn’t hurt either. He’s got a lot of things working in his favor. The reason he got the job was his qualifications, though, and not his ethnicity. He was a top choice and rated so by many people.”

Likewise, Dakin said that Garcia was a good pick-up for the schools – as he is destined for bigger things in the future, hopefully in Revere.

“He shows all the potential of being a strong leader,” said Dakin. “I don’t think a high school principal post will be this guy’s last job in education administration.”

Dakin said Garcia would be facing an uphill battle in getting acquainted with the Revere system and taking charge of RHS this fall – as it is a very quick turnaround with school starting in just over one month.

“That school takes a lot of management,” Dakin said.

Garcia and the rest of RHS will also be in preparation for a major accreditation process coming in two years. Dakin said there is much to do before the process starts.

However, Dakin also said that Garcia has just been through such a process in Woonsocket and is well acquainted with the hard work it takes to get through such evaluations.

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