Principal Marc Loranger has brought many changes to SHS during his first year, especially a new attitude toward school attendance. His own upbringing influenced this change. During our interview, Loranger mentioned his mother’s attitude toward school absence, stating, “I would fake (sick) sometimes and lay in bed. It didn’t matter. I’m up and at ‘em…She wouldn’t let me miss a day of school, and I think that’s embedded in me.”
There’s no doubt Loranger’s past experiences have made him the principal he is today. Thirty years of coaching wrestling have greatly influenced his management style: “Coaching plays a role in a lot of leadership roles. How you manage the building is similar to how you’d manage a team,” he remarked.
Now that he has had time to better understand the community, Loranger has discovered multiple aspects of SHS. Something that especially stood out was the support for extracurricular activities: “I’m very impressed with the fanbase here. When I go to a game, the crowds and the enthusiasm for our athletic events and band… I love it. There’s a lot of good participation and buy-in from the students at Scituate High School. I think Scituate’s really bought into the community and the school.”
In addition to the fanbase, Loranger mentioned the reception he feels from SHS students, stating, “One of the things I love about this school is that the student body is really friendly. I walk down the hallway and kids say, ‘Hey Mr. Loranger, how are ya?’ And I like that, and it makes me feel welcome.”
Regarding the new emphasis on attendance, Loranger said he understands some students’ response to the new changes, but it’s in everyone’s best interest: “We try to make decisions that are best for the kids, and sometimes kids don’t love it. They don’t love some of the decisions we’re making but we try to make decisions that are best for kids. So I think how I was brought up has a lot to do with how I’m trying to run the building as a principal.”
Loranger added, “Growing up with the family, and my mother was born in Italy, and she taught us to live every day of your life to the fullest. I think when I got this job, I took it as a chance to make a difference with a lot of different kids.” Looking to the future, Loranger commented, “We have already started to think about what we want to do next year to impact the school and to change certain things that we think are really going to benefit kids.”
Progress is a major motivator for Loranger, and he emphasized the importance of moving forward: “If you’re in a leadership role, you can’t just be set in your ways and ‘this is how I’m doing it.’ You reach out to people that have more experience than you, and people that are smarter than you in the particular role, and that’s how you get better. You’ve got to be open-minded.”