Scuderi Takes Reigns As Principal
Towards the end of the 2009-2010 school year, Berkeley Unified School District officials were troubled over the possibility that Berkeley High School would not see a new face in the principal’s office by the start of the fall 2010 semester. The search for a leader to replace distinguished Principal Jim Slemp was long, and qualified candidates were limited, even when the hunt was expanded nationwide.
Not long after BHS students departed for summer, those leading the principal search saw their worries relieved by the appointment of new Principal Pasquale Scuderi. Principal Scuderi will lead Berkeley High into a new school year with a fresh start and a flood of ambitious energy.
“I am incredibly pleased and very confident in Pasquale Scuderi,” commented Karen Hemphill, President of the BUSD Board of Education. “I think he hit it out of the ball park all throughout the process, and it was really a unanimous decision.”
On July 3rd, Scuderi began work in his new office, just one day after the School Board made his appointment official. “I can honestly say I am completely excited to be here,” said Scuderi.
Scuderi will reenter the Berkeley High School community with an extensive background in education, including various positions within BUSD and other school districts.
A graduate of the Principal Leadership Institute (PLI) at University of California, Berkeley, Scuderi first came to Berkeley High in 2006 where he worked for two years as a Vice Principal and lead administrator of Academic Choice. Though he didn’t originally have the intention of leaving, in 2008 a rare opportunity arose for a director’s position within BUSD and he decided to take it. Scuderi worked for two years as the BUSD Director of Personnel Services where he handled a wide range of responsibilities including employee discipline, union issues, contract management and other personnel negotiations.
“I think having been the Vice Principal at Berkeley but then having been away for a little bit and having some central administrative experience is really going to make him be able to hit the ground running,” said Hemphill, “and I know he already has.”
When the search for Slemp’s replacement first began, the opportunity didn’t line up well for Scuderi. While he was interested in pursuing a job as a principal, he originally wanted to explore smaller schools before undertaking a demanding job at a large school like Berkeley High.
“When the job came open a second time and they still hadn’t hired, it just seemed like everything was lining up at the right time,” Scuderi explained. Once he was hired and returned to Berkeley High, he was sure he had done the right thing.
“It’s absolutely the right move for me,” he said. “There’s great kids everywhere, in all cities, counties, and provinces, but I just think having been here and knowing what was possible, I might have felt a little disappointed someplace else.”
Even before his career in education began, school was a big part of Scuderi’s life. Growing up in Los Angeles, Scuderi spent much of his free time with his father who was a high school P.E. teacher, football coach and the first person in his family to attend college. His weekends were spent with his father at a nearby high school campus preparing for upcoming football practices. Because schools surrounded him during his childhood, teaching seemed like a good direction for his career. After attending college he spent seven years at Helms Middle School in West Contra Costa Unified School district. There, he worked as both an English and History teacher and later as an administrative intern before coming to Berkeley High.
One of the most important issues Scuderi hopes to tackle as the new principal is the equity gap at Berkeley High. “I want to see all of my students succeeding,” he said. Scuderi explained that in order to be effective in conveying information, teachers need to approach this problem with a “pull” rather than a “push” teaching method. “A lot of educators see their job as pushing information at kids ... thinking that if they just sort of put information towards kids it’s gonna result in some sort of gain,” Scuderi explained. Instead, he wants to implement the idea of pulling students into their work and engaging them. “That’s a general sort of philosophical belief that I really want to communicate with the teaching staff,” said Scuderi, “and it’s something that I’ll be looking for when I’m in classrooms.” Scuderi and his staff have made specific arrangements designating at least three full class hours during each week of the year to be free of meetings, phone calls and other appointments. During this time Scuderi can be out among the students and sitting in during class time. “Getting to know kids, getting to know what their passions are, what their interests are, where they’re headed, that’s really the foundation of why I’m in this business to begin with,” he said.
When he has free time, Scuderi enjoys cooking and being outdoors. Dedicated to his involved career, he also spends his days on educational research and discoveries through podcasts and various educational journals.
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