By Geena Monahan-For the North Star Reporter
Andrew Benharris never planned on a career in education, but his love of history and working with children led him to become a middle school history teacher and eventually, an assistant principal.
Now, after years of teaching and working in various administrative roles in both the Attleboro and North Attleborough school districts, Benharris has been named principal to where his childhood education began – Martin Elementary School.
“It feels surreal; when I was walking around, there were nothing but happy memories flooding back to me. This is a special place,” said Benharris. “I don’t think many people get to say they’re the principal of the place where they went to elementary school.”
After graduating from North Attleborough High School and earning a bachelor’s degree in history from UMass Lowell in 2004, Benharris landed a job at Boston Financial Data Services Company. While it paid the bills, according to Benharris, it wasn’t his dream job and he pursued a Master of Education with a concentration in history at UMass Boston.
When it came time to do his teaching hours, Benharris worked as a substitute teacher in Attleboro at Wamsutta Middle School.
“I really enjoyed working at the middle school level, and some people that were really good to me overheard me with the kids and were like ‘we’ve got to get this guy in,’ said Benharris. “Attleboro put me forward and I became a teacher, a good teacher.”
Benharris spent seven years working as a middle school social studies teacher at Attleboro’s Coelho Middle School, but had begun to toy with the idea of pursuing an administrative role. When a position for assistant principal opened up in 2019 at the Community School in North Attleborough, Benharris jumped at the opportunity.
According to Benharris, having his first full year as an assistant principal take place during COVID posed its challenges. However, working alongside Community’s Principal Jeffrey Sposata taught him what it meant to be an administrator who is present within the classrooms and helps with student behavior, while also being an advocate for the school.
Benharris did accept an assistant principal position in Attleboro in 2022 at Wamsutta Middle School, but said pursuing a higher level for his career in North Attleborough was something he couldn’t pass up.
“In full transparency, I love Attleboro but North Attleborough has been my home, it’s where I grew up, and I really did treasure my time at Community,” said Benharris. “The next step for me was becoming a principal and, when the opportunity was there for me, I went for it.”
Making an impact
Benharris fondly recalled several North Attleborough “legends” that left a lasting impact on him and made this town a special place to grow up. Mr. Lockwood, his sixth-grade English teacher and Mr. Shockro, his high school history teacher, were instrumental in fostering his love for education and history. Working at North Attleborough’s Recreation Department alongside the late Tony Calcia was another pivotal moment Benharris pointed to as the time he first realized he was good at working with children.
Benharris also reminisced on the North Attleborough community as a whole, one that supported himself and his family after the unexpected death of his mother when he was young. During those tough years, Benharris described a “revolving door” of people bringing over meals and making sure he and his brother were taken care of while his father worked long hours, which left an impression on him to this day.
Benharris brings experience as the family engagement and support administrator for Attleboro Public Schools, a job he said has shaped his holistic, organic approach to administration and education.
In that role, Benharris had to deal with truancy cases and go to court with students who made mistakes and found themselves in challenging situations. Figuring out how to help students one-on-one and getting to know people on a human level is something Benharris noted as one of his strong suits.
“In that particular role, it allowed me to meet people on different levels and give a perspective that’s much more global,” said Benharris. “It really helped me connect on a different level with families. I’ve always prided myself on being someone who really likes to talk to people and get to know families.”
With two daughters of his own now, 8-year-old Allie and 4-year-old Caroline, Benharris credits his work at the elementary school level for making him a better father. He officially steps into his new role as principal of Martin Elementary School on July 1, and hopes to emulate some of the characteristics of former Martin Principal Anthony Battista, including bringing back the infamous blazer that he was always known to wear.
“My job as your principal is to make you feel like we’re here for you, we’re championing for you, we’re partners,” said Benharris to his future parents and students at Martin. “Families come in all shapes and sizes; working with people of all different backgrounds, all different walks of life, that’s something I pride myself in.”