SALEM — Eliza Cassella was recently named the assistant principal for Collins Middle School in Salem.
Cassella served the last two years as the Director of Social and Emotional Learning, Culture and Climate at Collins. She has served in educational leadership for more than a decade and has two masters degrees from UMass Boston and Harvard and several certifications in leadership.
“We are so excited to have Eliza join our leadership team this school year,” said school principal Gavin Softic in an announcement. “Her experience integrating social emotional learning into the everyday learning environment for staff and students makes her a unique talent that we are very fortunate to have in our community.”
Among other duties, Cassella will oversee grade 7 and help support the implementation of the new Student Success Advisor model, the integration of restorative practices across the school, and CREW 2.0, a space for Connection, Reflection, Excellence, and making real world connections.
“I feel an overwhelming sense of joy, gratitude, and excitement to be transitioning into the assistant principal role at Collins Middle School,” said Cassella. “Collins…is cultivating something very special for students and educators, and you can feel and sense that when you walk through the doors. It’s electric.”
She graduated from Assumption College in 2010 and spent five years at City Year, a Boston-based nonprofit that assists schools in the U.S. and other countries in developing young leaders. She began at City Year as an Americorps member serving in a resource classroom delivering targeted interventions in English language arts and math. She also co-led the extended day program before moving on as the Team Leader at the Dearborn Middle School STEM Academy.
She held several leadership positions, including National Literary Lead, for which she worked with a team to implement evidence-based literacy interventions for corps members across the country. She was also named City Year’s Team Leader of the Year.
Her tenure in Boston Public Schools included as a classroom teacher and in leadership positions at the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown and East Boston High School. She was also the girls’ junior varsity basketball coach and an assistant varsity basketball coach for the Jets.
Cassella is currently a part-time adjunct professor at Assumption, a role she accepted last year, and lives in East Boston.