Although the end of summer is usually associated with endings, this summer brought a new beginning for Hingham High School in the form of the recently hired vice principal, Collin Shattuck. Mr. Shattuck is a Wheaton College graduate who before coming to Hingham taught as a special educator at Wellesley High School for seven years. In addition to his experience in Wellesley, Mr. Shattuck also taught in Natick, Florida, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Louisiana, and Rhode Island. These various positions from several different regions provided Mr. Shattuck with the capability and qualifications necessary for the assistant principal position.

However, a new job is always difficult to acclimate to. Mr. Shattuck seems to be taking all of the challenges of his position in stride. He shared, “The hardest part of the adjustment has been the amount of ‘new’ that I have had to learn. Understanding the policies in place while gaining a better understanding of the climate here is critical in order for me to serve in this role as effectively as I can. And that takes time.” 

It’s always easy to jump into a task too quickly. The real challenge comes from first slowing down in order to truly understand all the requirements before assuming a position. This is exactly the approach Mr. Shattuck is taking with his new job. In an effort to work as effectively as possible, Mr. Shattuck “forced [himself] to control that eagerness and take time to learn more about Hingham High School and the community before engaging in goal setting.”

Through this tactic, Mr. Shattuck observed, “I’m learning more and more about this community every day, and through listening closely to students, teachers, and members of this school community, I’m confident that I’ll be able to create and pursue some meaningful goals very soon.”

Already, Mr. Shattuck has a clear devotion to the student body, the staff, and his main goal that is “to help students understand the power of their influence on our culture here while supporting the expert teachers in the critical work that they’re doing.” A goal such as his perfectly embodies the core values of Hingham High. He continued, “different challenges present themselves all of the time. Actually, that’s one of my favorite parts of this job. It moves quickly, it’s never boring, and I work with incredible people.”

The staff of Hingham High has definitely lived up to their warm reputation in receiving Mr. Shattuck as vice principal. According to Mr. Shattuck, “To say that I was made to feel welcome would be a massive understatement. Now that I’ve had the chance to meet with teachers and many students here, those feelings have only expanded.”

As Mr. Shattuck gave praise to those who have helped him adjust to his new position, his coworkers also offered their words of approval to Mr. Shattuck for his amazing performance thus far. Mr. Swanson, Hingham High’s principal, commented, “I think Mr. Shattuck is off to a terrific start here at Hingham High School. He’s someone that we really believe in. We were very thrilled to add him to our leadership team here. So far our opinions of him have been totally validated by his performance. I think he has done a terrific job of connecting to our students and we’re really psyched that he’s here.”

Mr. Swanson was not the only one with a glowing description of Mr. Shattuck. Like Mr. Swanson, Hingham High’s other assistant principal Mrs. Hendrickson works closely with Mr Shattuck. In her opinion, “He’s passionate about his work, he is compassionate, he really is focused on students being the best that they can be and fulfilling their potential; and that’s how he handles his discipline. He’s not afraid to make those hard choices that many of us lose sleep over but, he is willing to make them and he explains why he’s making them.” Following that earnest account, Mrs. Hendrickson jokes, “I do have an issue with him telling me that I speak with a grandmotherly tone, however.”

The mutual respect and admiration that has already developed between Mr. Shattuck and everyone else here at HHS is truly impressive and obvious evidence that Mr. Shattuck will make a great assistant principal.