Chris Costa is the new principal at Case High School. Here's what he's planning.

Greg Sullivan

August 18, 2022 at 10:17 AM·6 min read

SWANSEA — Christopher Costa knows his limitations. So while he brings an upbeat attitude, energy, and a lot of administrative experience to his job as Joseph Case High School’s new principal, Costa does not bring a notable singing voice nor dancing shoes.

If the school continues recently retired Principal Brian McCann’s popular tradition of Broadway-like snow-day announcement videos, Costa would have bit parts, at best.

“My background is in athletics,” a smiling Costa said on Monday in his office afternoon after four hours of staff meetings. “Mr. McCann did just an amazing job with the snow day videos. I’ll certainly not be starring in the videos. But I’ll certainly discuss with Mr. Jeronimo (theater company adviser) if he’ll have any interest in continuing” them.

Case High’s assistant principal for the past eight years, Costa (B.A. in history, UMass Dartmouth; M.Ed., Providence College; CAGS, Northeastern) was kind enough to sit down with The Herald News and answer questions about the school and his new job.

The Westport resident, previous to becoming assistant principal in 2014, had served as an assistant headmaster at New Bedford High School for four years and, before that, had for six years been an assistant principal at Apponequet Regional High in Lakeville. The former Durfee High standout athlete taught history and coached baseball and football at his alma mater in the first chapter of his professional career.

Married and father of three, Costa, 51, has two sons, Brendan and Chris. Older brother Brendan attended Case sophomore through senior years, and younger brother Chris was a four-year Cardinal. Both were fine three-season student-athletes.

Pauline Simmons, administrative assistant, and Principal Christopher Costa in the Case High main office.

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HERALD NEWS: What is special to you about Joseph Case High School?

CHRISTOPHER COSTA: People really enjoy being here, whether its staff, certainly the students. It’s a wonderful place to be. The kids are amazing. The staff is great. We all work very well together. You don’t want to come to school, or to work, where it’s not going to be a joy. I think that the whole school community enjoys being involved in the school.

HN: Are you excited each day walking into the building?

CC: Absolutely. And as an educator, an administrator, every day’s different. You never know what’s going to come your way which is a unique part about being a school leader. When you walk through the parking lot, walk down the front walk, you have no idea what’s going to happen that particular day. But every day walking into the building it’s a really positive vibe in the building. And a lot visitors have told me that. That when they come in they really feel that it is a welcoming place. And that’s a testament to the culture that we’ve built here.

HN: How would you describe the Case High staff?

CC: Dedicated. This will be my ninth year in the building, and we’ve had very little turnover. So another word I would use is consistency. By consistency I don’t mean status quo. I don’t mean same old, same old. What I’m trying to say is people love to be here. They love to work here.

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HN: What is your professional philosophy?

CC: You really need to be collaborative. You need to put trust and faith in others. It’s not about me. We have a really strong administrative team, a really strong leadership team here in the building. Most of them have been here for many years. ...You have to be confident that they’re going to come to work every day and do the best they can for the students. And that’s a culture that certainly has been established, established long ago, and something that we will continue maintain for years to come.

HN: How did your sons enjoy their Case High experience.

CC: They loved their teachers. They loved their classes. And I know if you asked them, they would say they had an amazing experience here.

Christopher Costa brings an upbeat attitude, energy, and a lot of administrative experience to his job as Joseph Case High School’s new principal.

HN: How does Case serve its students in the extra-curricular realm?

CC: Our extra-curricular offerings are strong. I say all the time, although we are a relatively small school, the smallest school I’ve work in in my career, we do offer a lot of extra-curricular. I always say it’s very, very important for students to get involved in their building. But in order for them to do that, you have to order them opportunities. You have to offer them activities that consider their strengths. In that particular situation, I have great respect for all the particular types of activities we have here, whether it is with the theater, or music, or athletics. I don’t know what the percentages are off the top of my head, but the majority of the students in this building participate in something. It might not be three seasons of athletics. It might not be every theater production. ... With the school being so small — approximately 540 kids — we need kids to be involved in multiple types of extra-curricular activities. And here it’s kind of the norm. Not necessarily the expectation but it’s kind of the norm, where in other places I’ve worked, the athletes they played sports, kids who were interested in drama did theater, and even the music sometimes they had their own niche. But here it kind of comes full circle. The kids are able to do more than one type of activity.

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HN: How did you switch from teaching to administration?

CC: My intent was to stay in the classroom for a while and continue to coach, which I really enjoyed. There was an position opening for an assistant principal at Apponequet Regional High School. I applied. I hadn’t interviewed in a while, so I figured I’d at least get some experience interviewing again. One thing led to another. I was offered the position. It was a difficult move. I was doing what I loved to do, which was teaching, also coaching. I was doing it at my alma mater. I don’t know if I was looking for a change. It was just an opportunity. And I took it.