Three Hired to Head Reform Effort at Central Falls High
by Jennifer D. Jordan
June 2, 2010
Troubled Central Falls High School has a new leadership team charged with transforming the low-performing school within three years. Supt. Frances Gallo announced the three leaders Tuesday night, saying she has confidence the trio will “begin moving the school forward on the path of significant reform.” New federal guidelines require that chronically failing schools adopt one of four methods to improve, including the transformation model finally adopted by Central Falls after months of turmoil.
This approach calls for a “transformation officer” who is specially charged with overseeing major changes at the school, such as lengthening the school day, providing more training for teachers, building stronger relationships with students and improving the curriculum. The transformation officer is also expected to work closely with the school improvement team from the state Department of Education.
For this key position, Gallo selected Victor F. Capellan, currently assistant superintendent and chief academic officer of Fall River’s public schools, where he has been leading school improvement efforts since August 2008. Before that, Capellan was principal for four years at a high school in Bushwick, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y.. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Capellan worked as a facilitator for Providence public schools, and had a brief stint as executive director of the Center for Hispanic Policy and Advocacy. From 1996-1998, Capellan worked as a leadership coordinator at the University of Rhode Island’s student leadership office.
Capellan, who will be the deputy superintendent in Central Falls, received three degrees from URI, according to his resumé: a bachelor’s in 1992, a master’s of science, human development and family studies in 1996 and a master’s in education in 2002. He is of Dominican heritage and is fluent in Spanish.
Evelyn Cosme Jones, currently one of the assistant principals at the high school, and Sonn Sam, principal of the MET school in Providence, have been selected to serve as co-principals, Gallo said. Before coming to Central Falls High School, Jones worked as an assistant principal at three Providence schools, E{+3} Academy, Central High School and Hope High School. She was a Spanish teacher in several schools and is also proficient in Portuguese. Jones received a bachelor’s degree from Brown in 1987 and a master’s in educational administration from URI in 2005. “She’s phenomenal, with superior skills, particularly in analyzing student data,” Gallo said. “We already know she is well-liked by students and teachers, and we desperately wanted to keep her.”
Sam has led the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, known as the MET school, since 2006. He also worked there as an assistant principal and a teacher and advisor since 2003. He is fluent in Khmer, a language spoken in Cambodia, and is proficient in Spanish. Sam graduated from URI in 2003 and received a master’s of education administration from Cambridge College in 2005. He is currently enrolled in a doctoral program in educational leadership at Johnson & Wales University. “He was an outstanding candidate from the get-go,” Gallo said. “He scored high with students and parents and we felt it was a right fit.”
Gallo and her team reviewed three rounds of applicants this spring, receiving over 75 applications and interviewing 10, Gallo said. Gallo said the details of salaries are still being worked out. The hirings must also be approved by the Central Falls School Board of Trustees, which is scheduled to meet June 8 at 6 p.m. at Central Falls High School.