"It's been going very, very well," she said, regarding her first year at Stanley. "I have found the staff to be extremely welcoming and professional."
Pertuz was hired as the principal for Stanley Elementary last July, filling the slot left open after Principal Pilar Shepard-Cabrera resigned early last year.
Pertuz previously worked for 11 years at the Amigos School in Cambridge, a K-8 school that teaches students in English and Spanish.
Since she started last fall, Pertuz has been distributing monthly newsletters to parents, and has been seeking as much input as possible from parents and teachers to help her as principal. She said she is quite impressed with the amount of commitment shown by parents and faculty.
"Everyone is totally involved and committed," she said. "It definitely feels here in Waltham that you're part of a nice family of schools. And the parents have been very welcoming also."
Stanley parent Susan McKinney says she has been very pleased with Pertuz's performance thus far.
"I've been really happy with her, she was a breath of fresh air after last year," said McKinney, who is co-chairman of the Funway Park Committee, which is working to get a playground at Stanley. "She's very proactive, and she's doing a lot of things to engage the whole Stanley community. And she's been very supportive with the undertaking of the park."
Likewise, Reid Lyons, president of the Stanley parent-teacher organization, said he's heard nothing but positive comments from parents and teachers.
"Marcia's very professional," Lyons said. "I've gotten a lot of good feedback from teachers and parents that she's doing an outstanding job."
That feeling is mutual for Pertuz, who has also been pleased with the PTO's commitment. "I've been totally impressed with all the parents involvement in the school," she said. "The PTO is very active."
Lyons says Pertuz's original plans when she came to Waltham held good intentions, and are beginning to pay off.
"She came in with the idea that she would get as much input from as many people as she could," he said. "I think it's worked out very well."
But Pertuz has not walked the road alone. Once she started as principal, she was appointed a mentor by the school district, Northeast Elementary Principal Nadene Stein, with whom she meets once a week to discuss agendas, logistics, budgets and offer friendly advice.
Stein said she is impressed with the way Pertuz has adapted to the school system.
"She has a great wealth of experience as a classroom teacher, and I find her to be a very thoughtful, sincere and sensitive person, and she brings that to her role as an administrator," Stein said.
One thing Pertuz said she's become very interested with at Stanley, is the special education program, which she said she is eager to learn more about.
"Since many of our students are in special education, I'm enjoying learning more about autism and special education, and enjoying working with the parents and students and staff," she said.
She added that part of her goal as principal is to take away from the busy work of teachers, and to make it easier for them to do their jobs.
"We're just focused on student learning," she said, "and I'm focused on creating an environment so that teachers can focus on student learning."
In retrospect, after only half a year as Stanley principal, Pertuz said she feels she made a wise decision in accepting the position.
"Basically, I'm very, very happy ... I look forward to coming to work every day, which is as good as it gets."
Matt Perkins can be reached at 781-398-8009 or mperkins@cnc.com.
