Swampscott Middle School Principal To Become Next Superintendent

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Jason Calichman, a Swampscott High alumnus who has served as the district's middle school principal for the past nine years, will become the next superintendent of schools after the School Committee voted unanimously to select the one and only finalist candidate interviewed to replace retiring superintendent Pamela Angelakis.

Angelakis nominated Calichman, who previously served as assistant middle school principal for four years before becoming principal, as her successor in September. He said during a two-hour public interview late last month that he felt like he had a "really important impact on the middle school over the last 13 years and I would like to see how I could improve the wider lens of the elementary school and high school as well."

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The School Committee approved beginning negotiations on a three-year contract for Calichman, who will take over for Angelakis on July 1, 2025.

"I am happy to have an internal candidate," School Committee member Suzanne Wright said. "I am happy that we have a district that has a deep bench. I think Mr. Calichman will be a wonderful superintendent. The strongest thing, and I think this is what I think a lot of people want to see, is a presence in the community and you certainly have that.

"That presence is really important to people and your approachability. Through all the letters of support that we got for you, there was just a theme that ran through them all of your ability to listen and communicate. About your ability to give people agency to be creative about problem-solving and to do course corrections. All those things came through just about with every letter."

Those who spoke against Calichman's candidacy at the School Committee meeting cited the difficult experiences of their own children at the middle school under Calichman's leadership and criticisms that the internal search concentrating on one finalist recommendation potentially missed out on a wider scope of possible successful candidates.

"There really was no need to do a broad search," said School Committee member Amy O'Connor in praising Angelakis's cultivation of a leadership team and succession plan. "I really appreciate the work you have done with developing your team and coming to us with a very well-thought-out recommendation."

He said during the public interview that his top priority "has to be that teachers are not being cut (because of the budget" and that while he lauded the opening of the new K-4 elementary school "that doesn't mean that 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."

(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.)