Michelle Thompson

Staff Writer

James Antonelli, principal at Westford Academy, graduated from WA in the class of 1986. He has been a coach, a computer and business teacher, a dean of student activities, assistant principal, and is currently the principal. He returned to the school after his injury in college and has not looked back since. Antonelli was a student who really enjoyed his high school years.

“I had a wonderful experience at Westford Academy. I enjoyed my high school experience much better than my college experience. A lot of folks say the opposite,” said Antonelli.

When Antonelli was a junior in college at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, he got hurt playing football. He called Al Duffet and acquired a job as the freshman football coach. This is how he got his first taste of educating at WA.

As a student, Antonelli was very involved in athletics. He was on the football, wrestling, and track teams and became captain of both football and wrestling.

“It really taught me about leadership, perseverance, being tough and winning and losing,” said Antonelli about his role on the sports teams.

One of Antonelli’s favorite parts of high school and participating on the teams was the camaraderie that was formed with his teammates and the whole class.

“I had good teachers, I made good connections, life-long connections with a lot of folks, a lot of teachers that really had an impact on my life,” said Antonelli.

Although Antonelli was an athletic type of student, he also believes that education is very important. He says he wishes that he had spread himself out a little bit more into some different types of classes and clubs like the National Honor Society and student council. Antonelli describes himself as a solid student who was dedicated to his academics.

Antonelli knew his German teacher, Michael Joyce, well after the afternoons that he would stay after and study with him. Over the years, the two have built a very solid friendship.

“When he would come in for an explanation of something or just to ask a question, we would work and he would get up and every single time he would say thank you. Even when he was being talked about as a possibility for being the principal of this school, I remember bringing that up because that isn’t something that always happens. He was just a nice young man—he really was,” Joyce said.

Antonelli recently became the first principal to go on the foreign exchange when he traveled to Germany last year.

“Even all those years later his German came back to haunt him,” Joyce said.

When Antonelli was a student, Westford was less developed than it is now.

“There was Market Basket, gas stations, and Kimball’s. And we never really went too far,” said Antonelli.

Some of his teachers and mentors helped Antonelli decide that he wanted to return to WA. Bill Cody was Antonelli’s mentor and inspiration to become a teacher. Ed Scollan and Michael Parent were also a help to Antonelli in coming back to WA.

“Mr. Scollan is just a great teacher, great mentor, great friend,” said Antonelli.

Antonelli went to Salem State to get his teaching degree and has not looked back since. He then returned to WA as a computer and business teacher. He later became the dean of student activities and held that position for six years. He was then the assistant principal and he is now and has been for the past four years the principal of WA.

In between these jobs Antonelli also spent eighteen months working in sales. He says he did not enjoy it as much and returned to WA because other jobs were not as good as the one he has now.

Antonelli’s favorite job at WA was being a teacher. He was able to form great relationships with the students and he really appreciated and enjoyed that part of teaching. As a principal he says that people really don’t get to see him unless they are in trouble and he thinks he is seen as mostly a disciplinarian-type figure. He does not like this appearance although he has very high standards for all of his students. He encourages students to stop by his office and introduce themselves.

He has also had a few tough experiences. Antonelli remembers when he returned to WA and he had to evaluate his CP Biology teacher, Sally Haberman. He says that she was very respectful and appreciative but it was still one of the hardest parts of being back at WA as a faculty member.

However, being a member of the Westford community for many years has helped Antonelli a lot. The closeness and the traditions that the Westford community values can be hard for some of the newer faculty members to learn. Having known them since his school years is a definite advantage.

Teachers like Chris Gosselin, Pat Gendron and Scott Cruikshank remind Antonelli of himself as a new staff member at WA. They are also all graduates and have returned to WA as a part of the staff. He takes it as a compliment when a teacher returns because he likes to know that other students also enjoyed their experiences enough to return.

There have been some big changes in WA since Antonelli was a student. The size of the student body went from around 900 to about 1600 students. While Antonelli likes the growth, he also says that it makes it that much harder to get to know all of the kids by name.

Antonelli has had a great experience at WA but says there is still a lot of work to be done. In the future Antonelli says that he would like to put together a committee of students that could give him input about what he can do to improve their experience at WA. This year, he is planning on meeting with a group of outgoing seniors and a group of underclassmen to listen to their ideas about stress, balancing high school activities with school work and other ways to make WA even better.

“Westford Academy blood runs through his veins. He really he loves this place– it has meant a lot to him in his life and he continues to want to make a difference in the lives of the kids at the school,” Joyce said.