New Fiske Principal Motivated to Lead School

Thomas Martellone has been the new Principal of Fiske Elementary School since July 1, which gave him half the summer to prepare for the return of 475 students and 95 staff members.

In an interview with Lexington Patch, Martellone said he is excited about his role as principal, and is confident about the direction Fiske will go in the future.

Q. Can you tell me a little more about yourself and what you did before you came to Fiske.

Martellone: I am originally a Boston native, and moved back to the area after having lived in Maine for the past 15 years. It was there that I started my career in education as an elementary classroom teacher. My experieince was teaching in grades 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6. I was an assistant principal for two years, and later became principal of that school for another two. Shortly thereafter, I became principal of an elementary school for six years. Upon returning to Massachusetts, I worked for the Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education for one year, working with low performing schools in urban school districts. I hold a B.S. in Elementary Education, M.S. in Educational Administration and I am currently working on an EdD in Educational Leadership.

Q. What or who inspired you to get into the education field?

Martellone: I really wanted a job where I could make a difference and make a social contribution. I also love children and teaching people, so getting into education seemed to be a natural fit.

Q. What are you future hopes for Fiske Elementary School?

Martellone: I hope that Fiske continues to foster a positive school climate where students and adults alike enjoy coming to school each day. It's my hope that we'll continue to provide students with a rigorous academic program and that we'll help prepare them socially as well. The school has done a lot of work with Professional Learning Communities and I look forward to continuing that work, and also to take the work further and deeper.

Q. What do you like most about your current position – your favorite part of the job?

Martellone: Honestly, I love everything about the principalship. I feel as though I have a job where I can positively impact students daily, and I also get to work with parents, teachers and adults as well. I've shared with folks that for me, it almost isn't like work, which makes it a joy for me to do my job every day.

Q. What challenges do you face this coming year?

Martellone: I think that the biggest challenge will be learning the school and district culture while doing the work at the same time. My other challenge will be making sure that I get to know all students' names!  

Q. What do students and teachers have to look forward to this coming year?

Martellone: Students can continue to look forward to Fiske School's Whole School Meetings, and Fiske continuing to be a place where they learn a lot and have fun. Teachers can continue to look forward to the high levels of collaboration they have had in the past and further work in looking at student data to help raise student achievement and change instruction.

Q. What changes have you helped implement since you've worn the Principal hat?

Martellone: I've worked with school based staff to reconfigure some smaller spaces within the school, developed a literacy suite for students and staff and started a School Leadership Team/Data Team.

Q. What did you like about school when you were an elementary student?

Martellone: I loved science and hands on experiments! I always loved reading too!