Teacher, administrator, parent, principal

By Bill Doyle 

CFP Correspondent 

The recent hiring of Angela Symock as principal of Trinity Catholic Academy in Southbridge came as no surprise because she knew the school well as not only a teacher and an administrator, but also as a parent. 

Mrs. Symock was hired to teach the fifth grade at the school in 2000 and for the past seven years she served as assistant principal while also teaching the third grade. 

In addition, since the high school section of Trinity Catholic Academy closed in the spring of 1990, she is the school’s only principal whose children attended each grade in the school, pre-kindergarten through eighth. 

Her son, Kosmo, later graduated from St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior/Senior High School and will be a sophomore at Fitchburg State University this fall. Her daughter, Victoria, will be a junior at St. Paul Diocesan Junior/Senior High School. 

“The fact that she was a fellow parent has helped her establish some very strong relationships and she’s got a pulse on everything that’s going on,” said Josie Citta, who retired as principal in June. 

“It helps me when making decisions to have that parent perspective,” the 49-year-old Mrs. Symock said. “I’m constantly thinking, ‘How is this going to be perceived, how is this going to be digested from the parents’ perspective? Does it make sense? Is it clear enough?’” 

She said she’s careful not to assume that parents know issues or understand them as well as the administration. 

“I try to put on my parent shoes and my parent hat just to make sure it’s clear,” she said. “It certainly helps me.” 

Mrs. Symock had the pleasure of teaching her son and daughter in the third grade. 

“I was able to see them in a whole new light as a student,” she said, “from a teacher’s perspective rather than just the rose-colored glasses of a parent. What I learned about them exceeded my expectations. They amazed me with their growth, how they handled having Mom as a teacher, which wasn’t easy I’m sure, although they never shared any problems they had with it. It was wonderful.” 

Her children called her “Mom” in class, but they mostly tried to avoid calling her by any name. She made sure she was their mother, not their teacher, at their home in Douglas. And, yes, both of her children were A-students in their mother’s class. 

In 2014, Mrs. Citta hired Mrs. Symock as part-time assistant principal. She also served as secretary of the Trinity Advisory Board and has organized such extracurricular activities and community building events as a father-daughter dance, mother-son outings, Pink Hair Day in support of breast cancer research, the Lego Club and G.I.V.E. Junior, a student outreach organization. 

And she also taught five or six classes a day. 

When Mrs. Citta retired, she recommended that Father Kenneth R. Cardinale, pastor at St. John Paul II Parish, hire Mrs. Symock to replace her as principal. 

“I was overwhelmed,” Mrs. Symock said. “I was flattered and a little nervous, truth be told. It’s a big responsibility, but I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity.” 

“As a teacher, she was always kind, firm and consistent,” Mrs. Citta said. “She managed her classroom with a very steady hand. Children thrived in her room. As an administrator, she has a cool, calm demeanor. She is very much a people person and can interact with parents, with other constituents and with students in a kind, respectful and affirming way.” 

Mrs. Symock said she wants to create an environment where students are thriving and happy, and to increase enrollment. Last year, Trinity Catholic Academy had 119 students, two more than the year before. The only Catholic school in the tri-community area of Southbridge, Sturbridge and Charlton conducted in-person classes five days a week while teachers and students wore masks. Only five students tested positive for COVID-19 and Mrs. Citta said none of them contracted the virus in school. Students in the classes of those students learned remotely while they were quarantined for two weeks. The virus didn’t spread at the school. 

Always a hard worker, Mrs. Symock graduated from Southbridge High School in December of her senior year in order to begin working at Commerce Insurance in Webster. After working days, she attended Nichols College at night for eight years to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administration and she thrilled her parents by becoming the first college graduate in her family. 

“That was a lot of work,” she said. “It sure was challenging.” 

When her grandmother died, she reevaluated her life path and after discussing the future with her supportive husband, Dave, she left Commerce Insurance where she had worked for 10 years and had become a bodily injury adjuster. 

She enrolled at Anna Maria College to earn her master’s degree in elementary education and a certificate of advanced graduate studies. 

Upon graduating from Anna Maria, she worked briefly in the Shrewsbury Public School system’s after-school program and then as a teacher’s aide in the Oxford Public Schools. 

When Madeleine Brouillard was principal at Trinity Catholic Academy, she hired Mrs. Symock to teach fifth grade in 2000. 

“She’s very bright and she’s very on top of things, very organized,” said Mrs. Brouillard, who is currently the business manager and safe environment coordinator at St. John Paul II Parish. “She has a lovely way with children. Never raises her voice. She is just a wonderful teacher and she has pushed herself. She’s got a good heart.” 

And now, she’s become a school principal. The first day of school is Aug. 30.