Israa Malhouni also contributed to this article.
Entering the 2026-2027 school year, Alexander Sacco has stepped up as a long-term substitute, covering for history teacher Haley Rizzo as she went on maternity leave.
While attending Stoneham Middle School in 2012, Sacco’s mind became set on teaching after he was inspired by his English teacher, Mr. Gahan. When Sacco saw his teacher’s enjoyment and positive attitude towards teaching, he believed that it “would be something that would be great to do and it’d be wicked fun.”
Unfortunately, his career path got held back before it could begin. After graduating from Salem State University in 2020, Sacco was unable to find a teaching job due to schools being closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he took a temporary position in sales.
In 2023, Sacco was able to finally begin his teaching career within the Malden District at Forestdale. As the eighth-grade English teacher, Jessica Brown, went on maternity leave, he was given the opportunity to start teaching. “If they didn’t take the chance on me to start, I don’t know what I’d be able to do right now,” claimed Sacco.
His opportunity at Forestdale marked the beginning of his teaching career, but it would not be his last chance in Malden. As his first year of teaching wrapped up, Sacco transferred to Revere High School, where he continued as a history teacher for two years before returning to Malden.
“I really have always wanted to come back ever since I worked at Forestdale,” Sacco exclaimed. Longing to return, he applied to Malden High as a Campus Supervisor because “there wasn’t anything open.” Soon after, a last-minute opportunity opened up: a long-term substitute position in the history department.
To Sacco, it had been an offer that was undeniable. “I just love it here. I was excited when Mr. Tannetta called me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to step in for Ms. Rizzo and be the long-term sub?’ That was huge.”
Despite the sudden position, Sacco has managed to quickly adapt, being able to “be really successful in getting students to engage with the content and ask for help from colleagues as well,” shared the Head of the History Department, Kurtis Scheer.
Sacco contributed his quick adjustment to the school and to the teachers around him. He felt as if he had been quickly welcomed into the community of Malden High, and as if he had been “working for 10 years,” said Sacco.
Aside from the teachers, he has been able to connect with the community through old faces. Now that the students he started with in 2023 have grown up, he hopes to run into some familiar students. Observing students who pass the halls, he tries to see if there are faces he can “remember from the Forestdale.”
Junior Prakriti Silwal, who was an eighth-grader at Forestdale during Sacco’s first year, noted how he was “outgoing, humorous, and honest,” which made him stand out from her other teachers. Junior Beatel Tesfaye agreed, adding that it was “obvious he was still figuring things out,” but that he also was able to quickly form a consistent routine for her class.
Now that Sacco has a few more years of experience under his belt, Tesfaye noticed he “seems much more natural when he teaches,” and has kept his sociable personality and fun teaching while going “into detail about lessons” and offering help to students.
Although Sacco’s time is limited, he’s excited to make the most of it and plans to stay within Malden when Rizzo returns. “I would really like to stay in district,” Sacco mentioned, including his hopes of being a “building-based substitute,” or of being another long-term substitute at one of the middle schools.
“I would love to see him continue in Malden High School or within the Malden Public Schools. However it shakes out here, I think he’d be a huge asset no matter where,” Scheer concluded.
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