Rushe's New Principal Is No Stranger To Land O' Lakes

While many educators shy away from working with middle school students, David Salerno began his career more than 20 years ago wanting to focus on this age group specifically.

“I just relate well with the students,” he explained. “I have always been a middle school person.”

As the recently named principal of Charles S. Rushe Middle School, Salerno will have plenty of opportunities to work with kids in their “tween” and early teen years. Salerno replaced Dave Estabrook as the middle school’s leader in late February. in December after spending 35 years in education.

Salerno describes the middle school years as “a pretty tumultuous time” for children. It’s a time, however, he remembers fondly from his own formative years thanks to a teacher that made a difference in his life.

“Mr. (Christopher) Melby (was my) sixth-grader teacher,” he said. “Ever since I had him, I wanted to be a teacher.”

After graduating from Winona State University in Minnesota, Salerno got his chance. He was hired by Pasco County Schools in 1990 after attending a job fair in Minneapolis, Minn. Through the years, he’s worked as a classroom teacher at Hudson elementary and middle schools. He was named assistant principal at Pine View Middle School in 1997, serving under Estabrook.

“Dave and I go way back,” he said.

While he enjoyed working as an assistant principal, Salerno decided to take on a different kind of challenge in 2000. He transferred to the district level as the supervisor of human resources for teacher recruitment.

By 2005, he was ready to head back to school.

“I loved that job, but I really missed the kids,” he explained.

So much so that Salerno requested a transfer back to a single campus. That request was granted and he served at River Ridge Middle until 2008 when he was named principal at Seven Springs Middle.

Although Salerno said he was very happy at Seven Springs, he couldn’t pass up the chance to serve at the helm of Rushe.

“I jumped at it,” he said. “It’s a great school. The staff is all centered around student achievement and (I) get that feeling of caring.”

Parents, faculty and students wondering if Salerno has big changes in store for Rushe can relax, he said.

“My goal is to assess where we are,” he said. “(I want to) take a look at the successes and build on them and make a game plan for next year.”