New 'Gansett principal ready to go

6/28/2016 7:29:00 AM New 'Gansett principal ready to go Likes the fact that school is a key part of the community + click to enlarge Courtesy photo Mandy Vasil Christine Smith TEMPLETON  She does not really mind the snow and is thankful to still be near the ocean, so if new Narragansett Regional High School Principal Mandy Vasil misses the south, it is most sharply felt in the spring. But, she found a way to make things bloom at her central Massachusetts home with the intensity of color she remembers from her days in West Virginia and Kentucky. In her distinctive southern accent, she notes that they chat about the spring flowers and colors down there with the same passion the way New Englanders do about the leaves when they change here in the fall. Colors are important to Vasil — colors and team spirit. It is what attracted her to the school district in the first place, she said. While serving most recently at Millbury High School, three years as principal and three before that as assistant principal, she heard the old stories about Narragansett from a teacher who had graduated from there. Vasil said this teacher spoke about Narragansett and its strong displays of school spirit and team colors in a way that resonated heavily with the memories of her own experiences as a youth. She said she has found that much of what happens in the Templeton and Phillipston community is rooted in events at the high school. Vasil applied along with 16 others for the top job at the high school in December. She was one of three finalists and was eventually offered the position in February. Since that time, she has been in the district at every opportunity to meet teachers and parents, and go to a number of school events. She is looking forward to meeting the students later this year. “I want to be able to come in and effectively support the positive initiatives that are taking place at this time,” said Vasil, adding that she also wants to “gain the trust of the public and the faculty” as the district moves forward. Vasil has her eye on Narragansett’s annual Freshmen Academy, held each summer to help last year’s eighth-graders acclimate to high school. Vasil envisions a more expansive approach to this program that supports and encourages students not only at entry to high school, but throughout all four years. She said she is passionate about seeing students’ needs met, their questions answered, and that they make peer connections to support the goals they have for the future. She wants to see 100 percent of Narragansett’s high school students graduate. “As educators, it is really why we’re here,” said Vasil. As someone new coming in to lead the high school, she knows she will serve in some measure as an agent of change, but she insists her modifications will be “purposeful.” She hopes to bring the high school up from a Level 2 to a Level 1 status, as determined by the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She wants her faculty and staff to know that she will support their efforts and through them, the students. “I want to be in a school where the teachers want to be, and they’re invested in what’s happening in the school and what’s going to benefit the students,” she remarked. She has learned since her meeting with many teachers and members of the administration in the district that there are a number of students who are opting for School Choice or seeking alternative methods of education. She wants to learn the reasons why students might be choosing other options and what the district needs to do to keep the students at Narragansett and bring enrollment back up to over 400. Vasil will look for ways to refocus and redirect both classroom teaching and learning by improving the literacy and writing programs at the high school. She believes in a student population that will be at or above reading level across the curriculum and that this can be achieved by working on skills in these particular areas and determining where gaps may exist. She said a state-mandated Common Core is important for the school, noting the need for a somewhat matching curriculum across school districts or even from state to state. She pointed to students whose families might move from one location to another due to personal circumstances as her basis for supporting these shared standards. Vasil plans to hold an open house sometime in late July for the community, including officials in the towns, parents and others who may not have children attending the school but would like to attend. “I would like it that whenever people come in, they feel welcome,” said Vasil. “When they hear the name, it invokes good, positive thoughts – that Narragansett is where they want to be and go to school.”