Wishing Bocaccio and Donovan well as DHS takes next step

This week we learned that Dan Donovan will become the next principal of DHS in June when Gary Bocaccio steps down after five years in the role.

We applaud this decision by the Board of Education, Superintendent Salvatore Pascarella, and the search committee that recommended Mr. Donovan.

This will help in so many ways bring about a smooth transition. Mr. Donovan and Mr. Bocaccio have worked together for many years now.

As you can see by our front page and this page, we are using this issue to reflect on Mr. Bocaccio’s tenure.

It’s important to give him the props he deserves. We know that dealing with 3,000 students of diverse backgrounds and experiences is tough. Teens are not easy, we admit that ourselves. He’s also had to work with about 200 teachers, all who bring different experience, approaches and values to the classroom. Trying to get them all on the same page can’t be easy.

But he has stressed to us that we are a community of learners, as the sign says, and we feel he has tried his best to bring all of us together.

Yes, we can get tired of his lectures over the PA about electronics, earbuds and hats. We even see him just about every day standing outside his office to either say hello or to admonish those who violate the rules. It’s not uncommon to see him motion a student over during pass to say for the umpteenth time something like, “Take off your hat. Why do I have to keep saying this to you? Do I need to call your mother and get her down here? Take responsibility for yourself.”

We understand, however begrudgingly as we teens like to do, that his attention to the small things helps to keep the bigger discipline problems at bay.

And we can always count on Mr. Bocaccio coming by during Advisory to say hello and to wish us well. He does so the first day of school and before all the holidays. It’s nice, and we appreciate that he takes the time to walk from classroom to classroom to say hi.

We take this space to applaud his efforts, to thank him for his service to this school. He’s been here forever, it seems. He told Editor-in-Chief Mihir Sood he’s probably spent more time inside and around DHS than in all of his homes over the years. You have to appreciate that kind of dedication to the students and faculty.

And while we snap a salute to Mr. Bocaccio, we want to also wish Mr. Donovan well. We all know Mr. Donovan because we all went through the Freshman Academy, where he is the principal up on D4.

He has paid his dues for the principal’s position. First, and we know the teachers appreciate this, is that he’s not far removed from the classroom. He was a 5th grade teacher at Roberts Avenue and then a 7th grade science teacher at Broadview. When we went through the Academy, you could tell that our teachers enjoyed working with him.

Mr. Donovan also served as varsity football coach and athletics director. He has really made his mark, however, in the academy. This year alone he is watching over two initiatives that he helped bring here — DECO, which gives freshmen the opportunity to work toward a college associate’s degree while also earning a DHS diploma, and the Read 180 program to help freshmen achieve grade-level reading skills.

After writing this, we realize this is kind of a bittersweet moment. Bitter in that we have to say goodbye to Mr. Bocaccio; sweet in that we are celebrating Mr. Donovan’s promotion.

We sincerely wish them the best of luck.