Salvatore
”
Sal
”
Tomasello, now the principal at Ascension Solorsano Middle
School, has been serving the Gilroy Unified School District as a
teacher, coach and principal since 1972. His mark has been left on
thousands of Gilroy students and families who have benefited from
his earnest investment in seeing others succeed.
Salvatore Tomasello, 2010 Educator of the Year
What he does: Salvatore “Sal” Tomasello, now the principal at Ascension Solorsano Middle School, has been serving the Gilroy Unified School District as a teacher, coach and principal since 1972. His mark has been left on thousands of Gilroy students and families who have benefited from his earnest investment in seeing others succeed.
“I’ve been very passionate about working in education ever since I started,” he said. “I enjoy getting up in the morning, and I enjoy coming to school. It’s a wonderful profession.”
Tomasello spent six years at Brownell Middle School before moving to Gilroy High School in 1982 as a teacher. There he served as athletic director from 1983 to 2000, becoming instrumental in shaping the school’s athletic programs. He was also the assistant principal of South Valley Junior High School before he was chosen to be principal of Gilroy’s newest middle school, Ascension Solorsano.
Though he’s held multiple positions in various GUSD institutions, Tomasello describes middle school – the emotional highs and lows of which he’s become well-versed in navigating – as an opportunity to see students transform from the elementary child to the young adolescent entering high school.
“That’s what makes it a joy,” he said. “It’s always different. There’s never a dull moment in middle school.”
Why he received the award: Sal built a team with his staff to develop a plan that took Solorsano past the 800 Academic Performance Index mark, the goal set for all public schools by the state of California.
Currently, his campus has an API score of 814.
Ascension has also been recognized with the California Title I Academic Achievement Award and the California Distinguished School Award.
Under Tomasello’s leadership, outstanding characteristics of Solorsano continue to define the schools’ level of excellence when it comes to teaching, support staff, involved parents and an outstanding science department.
In his own words: “Blow up a balloon, then hold it above your head and let it go. That’s a middle school student. They’re all over the place. They can be cooperative, happy, and engaged. The next day they can be down because their best friend looked at them wrong, or hung up on them. You have to understand that.”
