Kennedy Middle School Has A New Principal, Officially

WALTHAM, MA — Kennedy Middle School has a new principal. Kevin Gildea took over as interim principal when former principal Jack Cawley passed away unexpectedly in February 2018. Now, he is officially stepping into the role of principal.

"He has built off of the foundation that Principal Cawley developed to partner with educators and other stakeholders to drive academic improvements and offer more enrichment opportunities for students," said Superintendent Drew Echelson in a letter home to the Kennedy Middle School Community dated March 21.

Gildea grew up in Watertown, graduated from Bridgewater State College with a B.S. in Elementary Education where he met his wife Karen. He went on to UMass Lowell and got his Masters of Education in Educational Administration in 2006. He spent 24 years working in Waltham schools beginning as a Plympton Elementary School teaching sixth grade and for the last 22 years he's been at Kennedy, teaching history and geography and then as an assistant principal under Cawley for a decade commuting from Billerica.

When Cawley passed away last year it hit the school community hard, including Gildea.

"It was extremely challenging and emotional for the building, what I went through personally, too. Jack was a wonderful guy, and he had such an impact on us. It was a very emotional challenge," he told Patch in an interview.

"But Cawley had assembled a wonderful staff, and we had to do what he would have wanted which was to keep things as normal as possible for the children," said Gildea who credits the assistant principals and administrative staff and teachers with helping keep the transition smooth

"I'm very fortunate to be surrounded by some very bright, highly proficient people and I lean on these people around me," he said.

When Gildea got the news he would stay in the role as principal he was thrilled, he said.

"I've always considered Kennedy my home. There have been other opportunities over the years, but this has always been my home, this exemplifies it that it's just here I need to be and where I'll be for the rest of my career," he said. "I'm really, really grateful to Dr. Echelson, the School Committee. And Adrienne Norris and Dave Sweder, the assistant principals? I'm lucky to have them."

He said his wife, who is a third grade teacher in North Andover, his 15-year-old twins and a 12 year-old son as well as his "work children" (what he calls the students at Kennedy) were pretty excited for him, too.

"They are my motivation," he said.

His favorite part of Kennedy? Without hesitation, he said, it's the kids.

"The middle school age is a very unique challenging age, there's truly never one day that's the same as another. It's a very live building. We do deal with challenges and have to be on our A game. but without a doubt it's a structure of brick, but it's the children and the teachers that make it what it is," he said.

Gildea said he's had fun watching the school prepare for the spring musical this weekend and then next month it will be the annual health day that's on everyone's radar.

Related:

Kennedy Middle School Principal Jack Cawley, 64, Dies