[ Originally published on: Friday, June 05, 2009 ]
WHATELY -- Whately Elementary School will have a new principal when the school year begins next fall. Peter Crisafulli, currently the assistant principal at Deerfield Elementary School, will assume the lead role at the Whately school on July 1.
''I am totally thrilled,'' Crisafulli said in a phone interview. ''Whately is a school that has a great thing going on. This is my first lead job. I couldn't think of a better place to land.''
Crisafulli, who has lived in Easthampton for 20 years, first came to the area in the late 1980s while studying for his master's degree at Springfield College.
After graduating, Crisafulli worked for the Massachusetts Society for Prevention to Cruelty to Children for eight years, as a therapist and then as a clinic director.
The new principal made the jump into education in 2000 when he signed on at Frontier Regional School to work on the school's transitional education program for youngsters with emotional and behavioral issues.
During that time, Crisafulli was licensed as a principal and, in 2007, became the assistant principal at Deerfield Elementary School.
''First of all, I have really found a home in the elementary level of education. As much as I enjoyed the 7 through 12 years, the elementary level just suits me better,'' Crisafulli said. ''The climate of an elementary school is a joyful place and I found that and want to contribute to that.''
While he lamented his short stay in Deerfield, Crisafulli said he hoped he would remain in Whately for the foreseeable future.
''My hope is that I'll be able to settle in at the job for a number of years. I like continuity. Hopefully, I'll have a good, long tenure there,'' he said.
Crisafulli said he was eager to adopt the community's vision for its elementary school.
''Their initiatives are the ones I want to pick up and want to run with,'' he said of Whately's goal for the school, adding that he did not come into the job with an agenda.
Frontier and Union 38 School District Superintendent Regina Nash recommended Crisafulli to the Whately School Committee Monday night, which promptly approved her choice.
''I'm absolutely delighted,'' Nash said of Crisafulli's appointment. ''I think he's a perfect fit for Whately Elementary School. I see him being there a long time.''
The superintendent added that she valued the new Whately principal's ability to build relationships and get things done.
Sue Ellen Hogan has served as the school's interim principal over the course of the current school year.
Principal was never a career choice he imagined for himself, Crisafulli said, but one that he now relished after years in the working world.
''I didn't grow up thinking I would be a principal someday. As I got out into the work world, I realized that I enjoyed providing leadership to others,'' he said. ''The next logical step in education was to provide leadership as a principal so I could expand upon my special education role that I had over at Frontier.''
A father of four young children, Crisafulli lives with his wife, Amy, and his 77-year-old father. He said he is an active member of the Easthampton community, where he coaches baseball and soccer.
Ever loyal to his New York roots, Crisafulli said he was still a Mets fan after living in Massachusetts for over two decades, but that he did not prevent his children from rooting for the Red Sox.