'No Place I'd Rather Be': Swampscott Superintendent Candidate Makes Case For Job

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Swampscott Middle School Principal Jason Calichman said excellent communication, strong collaboration and creative problem-solving would be his keys to lift the district from "really good to the next level" if selected as the next superintendent of schools.

Calichman answered School Committee questions for nearly two hours during a public interview after retiring Superintendent Pamela Angelakis recommended him as her successor last month. Calichman was the lone candidate interviewed as the School Committee weighed selecting the preferred internal candidate in lieu of a wider search for the district's first new superintendent in 10 years.

"I feel like I've had a really important impact on the middle school over the last 13 years," said Calichman, who has been the middle school principal for the past nine years after previously serving as assistant principal for four years, "and I would like to see how I could improve the wider lens of the elementary school and the high school as well.

"It was definitely a change in mindset in terms of the whole (teaching) career in the first place. But I've been doing it for 23 years and there is no place I would rather be and nothing I would rather do."

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The Swampscott Public Schools alumnus and parent touted the school culture at the middle school while voicing support for making teacher retention a top priority, saying he was for a statewide ballot question removing the MCAS test as a graduation requirement for high school and claiming that he would welcome those on his potential leadership team challenging him on decisions.

"I've found that you can voice your disagreements without being disagreeable," he said. "You can't be scared to disagree."

He cited the importance of "family partnerships" as one change he has embraced more in recent years and was critical of using the MCAS as a primary barometer for school ranking and achievement, at the same time he cited the middle school's scores being between 14 and 22 percent above state averages.

Calichman also said the middle school's chronic absenteeism at 7.32 percent — compared to the state average of about 20 percent — is evidence that his "kids want to be here."

"The rankings drive me crazy," he said. "I think we have to take a really close look at what they want and how we make adjustments because I think there is no reason why we can't be top 50, or a top 25 (in the state). I always get aggravated because the people who are ranking have never been into the school. I would love for you to walk around the middle school and tell me where that's ranked because I would argue it's the best middle school around."

He said he understands using the MCAS as one tool to judge the district's performance but has issues with how much time is dedicated to teaching strictly for the test and the burden it places on special education students as a graduation requirement.

"It was always one data point to me," he said. "Not this massive thing that was weighed more than anything else."

He said the district "cannot afford to lose teachers" because of budget or other retention issues because "if you lose somebody you're not going to get somebody back."

"Our top priority has to be making sure that teachers are not being cut," he said.

He lauded the opening of the new K-4 school but added: "That doesn't mean we're now all set."

"If we want this to be the town that we all want it to be for our kids to grow up in and be the educational system that we all moved here for," he said, "then we're going to have to fight for the money and work collaboratively with the town.

"I know we're not going to get everything we asked for. But why not ask for everything we do need?"

The interview was followed by about 20 minutes of public comment in which some residents voiced support for Calichman's candidacy, while two parents raised concerns about their children's difficult experiences in the middle under his leadership. Another expressed frustration that the potential of a wide search may be sacrificed in selecting one internal candidate.

"I want this community to realize that we do have a gem of a school system," he concluded. "We have to keep it that way and keep improving. And I want to be a part of that solution in making sure that Swampscott Public Schools are not just on the rise in some metric in Boston Magazine but on the rise in the way you can feel it in the fabric of the community each day kids are coming to school and going home happy and learning."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)