Charles West has a long history of working in education. Though he was not an educator himself, he worked at Rochester Memorial School for approximately 23 years, first as a social worker and later becoming assistant principal in 2013, 13 years ago.
Last month, the Old Rochester Regional School Committee approved West’s appointment as the new principal at Mattapoisett’s Center School, taking over from Dr. Linda Ashley who is retiring after 35 years in education and three as principal.
Taking a short break from working on teacher evaluations at RMS, we spoke with Charley last week to get a sense of how it’s going preparing to move schools and towns after so many years. He has worked on the Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL) program at Center School, so he will not be totally alien to his new workplace. He will officially start his new role on July 1, finishing out the year at RMS and shifting into running SAIL and preparing to become principal of Center School at the same time.
“I’m looking forward to joining a wonderful group of educators there at Center School,” he said. “The school has a great reputation of academic excellence combined with a really supportive and caring learning environment for students.” On the excitement, he said he was looking forward to this new chapter of his professional career, calling it “energizing.”
“I have kind of a clinical background. Prior to coming into the public school system, I worked in everything from community mental health to the clinical director of a residential treatment program for kids in Vermont,” he said. West mentioned the work positioned him well for schoolwork, then becoming a school social worker at RMS in the early 2000s. Charley said he loved directly working with kids, but said he “believe it or not, missed the management pieces of the work.” He highlighted bringing people together, collaborating on initiatives, and forging connections as motivating factors in his original involvement in school administration.
Though he is excited, he said he will most miss the relationships he made with staff, families, and the community in his long career at RMS. “It’s going to be a loss to be moving away from them. The good news is I’m not going very far, and I’ll still be able to stay connected,” he said.
In heading to Center School, West said he has received a warm welcome from teachers, students, and staff. “They’ve been great, as well as the outgoing principal,” he said, citing help and guidance from Ashley. West stated he looks forward to “seeing what’s going on there,” and wants to “respect the traditions that currently exist.” To that, he added, “it’s a great climate and culture there, so I’m not planning to go in and burn it down and rebuild.” He again emphasized collaboration and sharing ideas to troubleshoot.
Charley West is spared a trial by fire, having the summer to get acclimated and prepare for the start of the new school year in September. A nearby resident, Charley exclaimed his excitement for the option of peddling to work on the bike path. “I’m a big biker, so that is pretty cool. I can just zip down there. That’s a cool little bonus.”
By Sam Bishop