By Michael Coughlin Jr.
At its regular meeting on Tuesday, June 20, the Revere School Committee introduced two of its newest principals in the district Rachel Shanley who will be heading the Whelan School, and Cassie Sermon, who will be at the helm of the Lincoln School.
Shanley, who completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her master’s in early childhood education as well as her certificate of advanced graduate studies at Salem State University, has been in the Revere Public Schools (RPS) system for more than two decades.
During her time in RPS, Shanley has taught grades one and two at the Lincoln, Beachmont, and McKinley Schools and, just two years ago, became the Assistant Principal at the Whelan School.
“We really look forward to Rachel’s [Shanley] leadership which she displayed all the time throughout her career in Revere,†said Doctor Dianne Kelly, Superintendent of Schools.
Following her introduction, Shanley spoke briefly about what she plans on bringing to the Whelan School as its new principal.
“I have a lot of experience in many of the elementary schools; the AC Whelan is the fourth — I have found a home there, and I really have a vision for helping the AC Whelan in building some structure and consistency,†said Shanley.
“The AC Whelan has been through great administrative change over the past five years, so we are really looking forward to some consistency and leading with courage, consistency, collaboration as we move forward,†she added.
Following Shanley, Sermon was then introduced, and she has a bit of a different background in that she is new to Revere.
Sermon completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education at Oakwood University and even has a double master’s degree in school counseling and urban education, which she achieved at Long Island University.
Further, Sermon has taught grades three through five for 11 years in Brooklyn, New York, worked as a guidance counselor in Randolph for six years, and recently spent two years in Taunton as an Assistant Principal.
“Her [Sermon] focus on student and family engagement on rigor and on equity align perfectly with the work that we’re doing here in Revere, and so we are really excited to have her leadership as a new resource to all of us as we try to get stronger in those areas,†said Kelly.
“So Cassie, we are really proud to have you. Thank you and welcome,†she added.
Sermon also spoke before those in attendance at last week’s meeting, indicating that she already loves the school.
“I am extremely excited to be part of your school community. I love education; I love the school already; I love the community that it has,†said Sermon.
Sermon, who described herself as a proud product of immigrant parents, spoke about the community of English learners at the school and tied that into her goals of bringing more family engagement to the Lincoln.
“My school was my home where I learned English, and I practiced it frequently because my parents didn’t speak English at home, so being able to be part of that community which is a large Hispanic community there — I plan to focus on that family engagement — bringing that into the building and finding a way to incorporate families in being part of the school,†said Sermon. It is clear that there is excitement for both Shanley and Sermon to take the reigns of their schools as principals and lead them into the future.
