Joseph Branco

NEW BEDFORD — Joseph Branco, a current assistant principal and former teacher and technology specialist in the Chesapeake (Virginia) Public Schools system, will become the new principal at Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford, effective July 1.

His appointment was announced by Fall River Diocesan Superintendent of Schools Stephen A. Perla.

Originally from Tiverton, R.I., Branco served in the United States Marine Corps for 22-years before beginning teaching at the elementary level in Chesapeake in 2002. From the third- and later fourth-grade classroom he then moved into educational technology within the system, working with teachers to incorporate technology into their daily instruction. In 2010, he was named an assistant principala, first at Southeastern Elementary then the George W. Carver Intermediate School, where he now serves. In his capacity as assistant principal he has had as areas of focus special education and the Virginia Alternate Assessment Program for students with cognitive disabilities.

In an introductory letter to parents of Holy Family-Holy Name students, Branco said he is “humbled to have the opportunity to serve a school with such a rich Catholic education tradition!”

He explained his intention to continue the school’s “focus on spiritual development, character education initiatives, the use of data to drive instruction, and to provide the consistent implementation of a rigorous core skills curriculum so that we continue to increase the achievement of all students.”

Superintendent Perla is excited to welcome Branco to the Holy Family-Holy Name School community.

“Given Joe’s deep commitment to education and his extraordinary leadership abilities, we are confident that the school will continue to grow and provide a faith-filled and rigorous academic program for the children and families it serves,” he said.

Branco has also been very involved in religious education in and around the Chesapeake area, teaching various grade levels at two parishes and serving as a senior catechist in programs in the Richmond, Virginia, and Raleigh, North Carolina dioceses.

He holds a master’s degree in Education from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and an Educational Specialist degree in Leadership-Administration and Supervision from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

He is married and the father of three.

At Holy Family-Holy Name School, Branco will succeed interim principal Marianne McGlynn who will return to her previous assistant principal post.

Diocese of Fall River
Catholic Schools Alliance
423 Highland Avenue
Fall River, MA 02720
508-678-2828
www.CatholicSchoolsAlliance.org

The Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D.
The Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D.
The Bishop of Fall River