Derby High School students will have no trouble getting used to their new principal.
That’s because Acting Principal Martin J. Pascale was named to the top post Tuesday (Feb. 3) night by the Board of Education during a special meeting at Derby Middle School. Members met for two hours in executive session interviewing him and another candidate.
Pascale, 37, has been serving as acting principal at Derby High School since the abrupt resignation of Greg Gaillard in December for personal reasons.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity to lead Derby High School and I thank the Board of Education for giving me the opportunity,” Pascale said.
Pascale, a Monroe native, taught history at Ansonia High School for 12 years before he moved to the Derby School District in May 2013.
“We wanted to find the right fit without rushing it,” Superintendent of Schools Matthew J. Conway Jr. said of Pascale’s hiring.
“Marty has risen to the position” through his work with the high school’s culture, instruction, and daily operations, the superintendent said.
Pascale’s salary will be around $135,000.
Conway said parents will be happy to see a familiar face at the helm of the school.
“Most importantly, the kids know him,” he said.
“We’re very happy with Marty,” Board of Education Chairman Kenneth Marcucio said. “He’s done an excellent job since he was (at the high school).”
Pascale and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, Martin Jr., 3, and Stella, 11 months. They live in Waterbury.
Conway said the school district’s step is to name two administrators for Derby Middle School.
The administrators resigned in November after the board started disciplinary procedures against them for the way they handled a written threat found in a school bathroom.
