Teacher Feature: Mr. DiSarcina

Mr. DiSarcina, commonly referred to as “Mr. D.”, is the current principal at Matignon High School. Mr. D. started working at Matignon in August of 2006, and has devoted about twelve years of his life to the Matignon community. Mr. D. was born and raised in Somerville. He received a Bachelor of Business administration from UMass Amherst. Then he went on to Boston State College, now known as UMass Boston, to receive his Masters in Educational Administration. Mr. D. continued his education at Suffolk where he obtained his Masters in Business Administration. Mr. DiSarcina’s main hobbies include collecting shells on the beaches of the Cape, taking walks, and reading. A major aspect of Mr. DiSarcina’s life is his family which consists of his wife, his only daughter who used to work at Matignon, and his two grandchildren, Kailey and Joey, all of whom he is very dedicated to.

Interview:
Q: For those who do not know, can you describe your work as the principal of Matignon?
A: “Well, I feel that my job as principal is multi-faceted. Some principals only deal in the disciplinary side of being an administrator, but I feel that my job here is to try and get to know every single student and try to make their day here as comfortable and satisfying as possible. I feel that education goes more smoothly when students feel very at ease and comfortable in their setting, so I feel that my job is to be out in the corridors as much as it is to be in the office.”

Q: What is your happiest and/or proudest moment while working here?
A: “I’d say a couple, there are a couple of things that really make me very proud and happy here. Number one is at graduation, seeing our students’ four years all completed by walking across that stage. Another thing I’m very very proud of is that we’re a high school, a Catholic high school, that’s job is to educate all students, not only the students that achieve very highly in the classroom. So, when we get students that sometimes struggle academically, to see them go through four years here and get their high school diploma when I know they had to work really hard to do so, that really makes me very proud. The third thing that makes me very proud is when I get a phone call from someone outside of Matignon that wants to call me and tell me about something good that one of our students has done outside of the school. As I said, we are a catholic community, a catholic family, where are responsibility is to make somebody’s day feel special, so I am very proud when I hear that our students are doing good things outside the school as well as inside the school.”

Q: Growing up, did you ever see yourself in this type of a position? If not, what did you believe you would be doing?
A: “I did not see myself in this position. My undergraduate degree is in business administration with a major in finance, so my original intention was to go into the business then work somewhere in the financial field. At the time I graduated, I played a couple of years of professional baseball and when it was time to start looking for a job, there were not any business jobs available. So, I got into substitute teaching and coaching and never left that profession. That is where I made my career and it is a very very satisfying career.”

Q: What would you say is your biggest inspiration for all that you do?
A: “Well, that’s a good question. I think probably the inspiration that carried me into what I do is that I grew up in an Italian family that always stressed family and community. When I started to work as an educator and principal, I think my family upbringing prepared me to want to have our school be the same as that and become a family, to become a community, where we are all working together to better the school and better each other.”

Q: Is there anything you can share about what you are looking to accomplish for the future of Matignon?
A: “Well, in the future I’d like Matignon to grow and become one of the most respected and highly sought after private high schools. Also, I like to believe that our goal is for each individual student to become the best student and the best person that they can be by the time they graduate. I want every student here, when they leave Matignon, to be able to follow their dreams and make their dreams come true in the future. That’s what I hope for this community, for this school, to sustain itself and meet the needs of every student in it.”

By Maria Aliberti