New Westwood High Principal Plans Stability, Unity, Success

Scott Cascone, the new principal of Westwood Regional High School, is planning to focus on three themes for the upcoming school year: stability, unity and success.

Cascone was appointed to the position this summer after a year which saw schools closed for a week by Hurricane Sandy, growing concerns over school security after the Newtown, Conn. school shooting and several administrators leave the district under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Now Cascone, formerly the district's director of personnel, aims to build a culture of positivity by unifying the school's students, teachers, staff and the community at large through improved staff recognition and greater collaboration between school and home. 

"It was a tumultuous year here," Cascone said. "Having an environment that is even and steady will be appreciated by all of our stakeholders. That's the tone I want to set from day one."

With that in mind, Cascone said he isn't planning any big initiatives this year, other than continuing to help prepare teachers for the new state-mandated evaluation system. 

The new evaluations focus more on teachers' ability to have students reach growth objectives. Students' skills will be measured at the beginning of the year to mark base data and set goals. Cascone said he was working with teachers to ease any anxiety over the new system, which he said he expected would ultimately lead to increased professional reflection.

"I think it's really gong to lead to a level of collaboration among teachers and administrators that we've never seen before in this profession," he said.

Toward the three themes, Cascone has also planned a new quarterly recognition program for teachers and staff and hopes to host an event — possibly Pascack Valley Relay For Life — which would encourage team-building in the school and community at large. 

Bringing in the community would help show off some of the success achieved by the school's students and ease the concerns of some residents about the quality of the school, Cascone said. Of course, the ultimate goal is still to help students succeed.

"We live in a results-oriented society," he said. "There's no other option for our kids."