Educator crossing the river
Cumberland High administrator heads to Lincoln
LINCOLN – Adolfo Costa, one of two assistant principals at Cumberland High School, will be leaving the post he has held since 2013 to become principal of Lincoln Middle School.
Costa began his career as middle school director, social studies teacher and science teacher at Saint Thomas Regional School in North Providence, and he said his upcoming move to the town next door was largely about returning to that grade level.
“Working with that age group is something I always gravitated to,” he said. Costa noted, “At this age, kids look to adults to be that model of: Who am I supposed to be?”
The Lincoln School Committee voted on Monday night to approve the appointment of Costa, who will be starting in his new role on July 1. He is replacing Heidi Godowski, who is leaving to work in Massachusetts, where she lives and where she has a large chunk of her pension.
Beaming after the School Committee meeting, Costa commented, “This is all fantastic. I’m so excited about all of this.”
While the Cumberland School Committee voted unanimously to forward an unbalanced budget to the Town Council, Superintendent Robert Mitchell’s original proposed budget included cutting one of the two assistant principal positions at the high school. Jessie Butash is the other assistant principal.
But Costa says this wasn’t the driving force in his decision to leave.
“It was more about an opportunity to do something I felt I always had a passion for,” he said.
Mitchell said he is sad to see Costa go but happy that he is able to achieve his next professional goal, noting that “there’s no question that he wanted to get back to that level, and he has definitely talked about that.”
Mitchell said of Costa, “He is conscientious and hardworking. He has a nice way with people. He treats everyone with dignity and respect.”
Coming to Cumberland High School four years ago was a homecoming for Costa, who graduated from Cumberland High School and lived in the town for 31 years before moving to North Attleboro. After high school he attended Rhode Island College, graduating in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education.
He worked at Saint Thomas Regional School at three years before transferring to Davies Tech. He started at Davies as a social studies teacher, and he became the social studies department coordinator and PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) coach.
Costa worked at Davies for 12 years. In January of 2013, he earned his master’s degree in school administration from Providence College. He then began working at Cumberland High School, his first administrative job.
Reflecting on his time at Cumberland High School, Costa spoke of how much he valued working with the team there, citing Principal Alan Tenreiro and Assistant Principal Jessie Butash. One of the focuses that has been the most meaningful to him, he said, was changing the culture of the school.
“We worked really, really hard to instill the idea that that was a place for academia and nothing short of that,” Costa said. He also noted that being in a school that’s 1:1 with Chromebooks has been “tremendous.”
Costa knows there will be disappointment that he’s leaving Cumberland, “but sometimes we have to weigh decisions: either I disappoint myself or I disappoint someone else.”
One person who is definitely not disappointed with the decision is Lincoln Superintendent Georgia Fortunato.
“I think he’s going to be an amazing asset,” she told The Call. “He’s going to move us to the next level.”
Lincoln School Committee Vice Chair Joseph Goho said he feels Costa will “be an excellent match” with Assistant Principal Barbara Maher.
“I feel extra confident as a parent that we have a really strong, solid team that’s going to be here for awhile and bring some stability,” Goho said.
Costa said he hopes to be in his new role for the long haul, citing research that it takes about seven years to show the impact an administrator will have on a school.
“I foresee myself, if the School Committee and the superintendent will have me, I see myself being here for a very long time,” he said. Costa added, “It doesn’t happen overnight, but I’m committed to working really hard, and I’m committed to collaborating with staff, with leaders throughout the district.”
This comes less than two months after Principal Alan Tenreiro announced he will be leaving Cumberland High School to be president of Mount Saint Charles Academy in Woonsocket.