McCall Principal Looking Forward to New Role

It only took five minutes for Jorge Goncalves to realize was the place he wanted to be.

After the former Beverly assistant principal walked into the interview room for the first time, was the perfect district for him.

“After that first interview, I knew right away I wanted to be in Winchester,” Goncalves said. “Based on the questions that were asked, the people that formed the internal committee, I knew this would be an incredible place to work.

“Once they offered me the position I was overjoyed. I was happy to get this opportunity.”

Goncalves has been a middle school educator for the past 13 years. For the last seven years he has been an Assistant Principal at the Briscoe Middle School in Beverly, Mass. Prior to working at Beverly, Goncalves taught middle school English and ELL at the Fuller Middle School in Framingham.

“Goncalves brings a passion and dedication for middle level education,” Superintendent William McAlduff said. “He is a team player and is admired by staff, students and colleagues.”

 was the Interim Principal at McCall this past year.

“It’s important that we work to bring 21^st century skills into play,” Goncalves said. “They need to permeate the curriculum. Technology will prepare students for their future. We need to prepare students for jobs that don’t exist today.”

According to Goncalves, in order to do that, schools need to teach student had to analyze, research and interpret new ways of doing things.

“Students need to find their own meaning and work on problem-solving,” Goncalves said. “They need to use the knowledge here to know the why, not just the what and the how.”

In order to accomplish these goals, Goncalves said he will focus on professional development and work with teachers to improve instruction.

“We will collaborate together, help teachers work together and analyze data to find out what works,” Goncalves said. “We can’t move forward if we work in isolation.”

As excited as Goncalves is with his new position, the first-year principal is looking forward to that first day of school, when the students are back in the building.

“When the kids come it’s a completely different place,” Goncalves said. “It’s completely different place during the school than during the summer. I can’t wait for students to get here and I get a chance to build relationships with them, with the faculty and the community.

“This job’s about people. When the students arrive and you see them firsthand, that’s what it’s all about.”