"I’d love to see all of you kids, from 7th grade to twelfth grade, just finishing strong, finishing the right way and continuing to be good people."
Interview by Maile Biehl
After fourteen and a half years, Mr. Balestracci, Mashpee Middle-High School principal, is leaving Mashpee and departing to Fairhaven Public Schools to take a new post as Assistant Superintendent. Mr. Balestracci has served MMHS as a teacher and an administrator since 2007. This year marks his seventh year as principal. He took on the role in 2015 after serving as Dean of Students for grades seven to nine for a year. He started as a teacher and taught senior seminar and law along with history. Mr. Balestracci agreed to sit down with The Falconer to share some of his thoughts as he prepares for his final days at MMHS.
The Falconer: What has been your favorite thing about working in MPS?
Mr. Balestracci: That's a tough one, there's been a lot of great things. First and foremost, you guys as students. The students here are amazing. They are unique, they are just a special group of kids. Students past and present are really my favorite things. It's just working with you guys, building relationships and trying to do the best I can to give you strong experiences and good opportunities. I really am thankful for our staff and our families that I have had the privilege to meet and work with in my time in Mashpee. If there was one thing that is really my favorite, it would be the students, staff and families and being able to interact and work together to make it the best experience it can be.
After fourteen and a half years, Mr. Balestracci, Mashpee Middle-High School principal, is leaving Mashpee and departing to Fairhaven Public Schools to take a new post as Assistant Superintendent. Mr. Balestracci has served MMHS as a teacher and an administrator since 2007. This year marks his seventh year as principal. He took on the role in 2015 after serving as Dean of Students for grades seven to nine for a year. He started as a teacher and taught senior seminar and law along with history. Mr. Balestracci agreed to sit down with The Falconer to share some of his thoughts as he prepares for his final days at MMHS.
The Falconer: What has been your favorite thing about working in MPS?
Mr. Balestracci: That's a tough one, there's been a lot of great things. First and foremost, you guys as students. The students here are amazing. They are unique, they are just a special group of kids. Students past and present are really my favorite things. It's just working with you guys, building relationships and trying to do the best I can to give you strong experiences and good opportunities. I really am thankful for our staff and our families that I have had the privilege to meet and work with in my time in Mashpee. If there was one thing that is really my favorite, it would be the students, staff and families and being able to interact and work together to make it the best experience it can be.
The Falconer: What about your decision to leave has been the toughest?
Mr. Balestracci: Well it's kind of like leaving your family, right? Fourteen plus years is a long time. I’ve only worked in this building as a professional, so my entire adult life has essentially been here. A lot of the staff members here helped raise me, helped mentor me and put me into a position to take on an opportunity like this but I think what I will miss most is the relationships I have with the students, the staff and the families. This town and this community has been so great to me. I only hope to have been able to reciprocate what this school and community had given me. It's difficult to leave a place that you’ve called home. It's really just a family decision to do what's best for my family. So that's probably what made it a little easier of a decision but it's probably one of the toughest decisions I've ever made in my life because I do love it here and will always love it here.
The Falconer: With such a soon departure, what is one thing you want students to remember most?
Mr. Balestracci: From me personally, I want students to know, I hope you know that I love each and every one of you as students and you guys have made it a joy for me to work here each and every day. I want you all to know that I will always be here to support you whether it's being here now in this role or in the future in my new role, I'm always going to be here for Mashpee kids. I'm always going to make myself available for you guys. I just want you to know that I’ve worked really hard for you guys and I always will. That's what I want you to remember, how great you guys are as kids. Just remember that you're Mashpee kids, that's what's important and what you should be proud of.
The Falconer: If you could leave anything behind, what would it be?
Mr. Balestracci: That's a tough one, I’m not a material person so there's no wooden gavel to hand down. I think, if anything, I hope that our school realizes that we’ve done a good job as a team. Our teachers and staff, our administrators, our students, our families. I hope that we can leave behind a culture that is primed for even more progress and more growth. I think we've done a decent job as a team and I think the culture that we’ve created is something that I’m proud of our team for doing. That's really what I hope that they take away. Hopefully whoever comes in is prepared to take Mashpee to the next step.
The Falconer: If you could take one thing with you, what would it be?
Mr. Balestracci: The biggest thing for me is just the memories that I have here. I can't really recall any negative memories at Mashpee Middle-High School for me as a teacher, as a coach, as an administrator, as a principal. So I think what I am going to take with me is the love that this place has shown me. How people believed in me as a young person to take on larger roles and big jobs and trusted me to do that. The parents have trusted me to lead their children's school. I think what I am going to take with me is the memories and they are all positive ones. That's what I am going to think of when I think of Mashpee.
The Falconer: How has MMHS grown since you started?
Mr. Balestracci: It's grown a lot since I came on board 14 years ago. I think that the school has grown as far as opportunities for students, as far as hopefully making a culture that kids feel comfortable and safe to come to school and want to come to school and they can take courses that they are invested in and interested in. I think it's grown a lot in that way, as far as achievements, it's grown tremendously as far as MCAS and advanced placement courses, so it's grown exponentially, I feel. We are in a much better position than we were 15, 20 years ago. Really, that's a testament to the students for trusting us in the decisions that we make, but our staff as well to be innovative, to try new things and to take on challenges, to be the best they can be. That's not easy to do, that's scary sometimes. When you think about how it's grown, it's really about the team and what they’ve done and you guys as students and staff. It's really about the relationships, without those innovative thoughts and ideas, you can't grow as a school. There is nothing that I’ve done to make the team grow, it's really what the team has done.
The Falconer: What is something you would like to see for the rest of the year?
Mr. Balestracci: I think it's in great hands. I’m very confident that it's in great hands. I’d like to see them continue to get back to normalcy, to continue to be resilient. Maybe try to break some of those bad habits we’ve created during COVID. I think we’ve got to get back into the realm of hard work and accountability. I think we’ve got to do everything we can to be the best we can be. So I hope that our students finally catch their stride coming back to school after two years of unique learning experiences. I’d love to see all of you kids, from 7th grade to twelfth grade, just finishing strong, finishing the right way and continuing to be good people.