The new principal at Memorial Elementary School has 16 years of teaching experience.
Melissa A. Cote, the new principal at Memorial Elementary School in West Springfield.WEST SPRINGFIELD – Melissa A. Cote, the new principal at Memorial Elementary School, says she looks forward to raising academic achievement there.
Cote, 37, took over July 1. She replaces Jeffrey Udall, who left to take another position.
Cote spoke about her goals and expectations during an interview at the school on Friday. She said that Memorial is the lowest-performing school in the district and that she hopes to turn that situation around.
“It is not scoring at the level of the rest of the district, and our goal is to make it come up to the level of the rest of the district,” Cote said.
The new principal said it is too early for her to quantify the situation as she has just gotten access to the state’s computerized records.
Meanwhile, Cote has started meeting with teachers at the school.
“There is a lot of positive energy among the teachers I have spoken with. We are going to see some great things happening,” Cote said.
The new principal is being paid about $86,000 a year in her job. She comes to West Springfield from a post in Springfield as an instructional leadership specialist at Mary Walsh School, where she was paid about $65,000 a year. Cote was responsible for overseeing staffers as well as about 300 students.
The new principal grew up in West Brookfield and is a 1991 graduate of Quaboag Regional High School in Warren. She has a bachelor’s degree in child study from St. Joseph’s College in West Hartford, Conn., and a master’s degree in education with a concentration in literacy and communication from Framingham State College.
Her first job in education coming out of college was as a teacher’s assistant in the Southborough public schools. She did that for a year and then moved on to become a full-time kindergarten teacher at Sabis International Charter School in Springfield in 1996. Cote went on to become a literacy coach and K-12 reading teacher in Springfield’s public school system, where she has worked until taking the job as principal in West Springfield.
Cote is holding office hours of from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school and welcomes parents, staffers and community members to visit her. To set up an appointment, call (413) 263-3334.