Roaring Brook School Interim Principal Appointed

Avon Superintendent of Schools Gary Mala recently announced the appointment of Thomas Russo as interim principal of the Roaring Brook School.

The Hartford Courant reported that a finalist for the job who was interviewed by the Avon Board of Education on July 10 withdrew from consideration afterward, so the board decided to hire someone on an interim basis for just this school year.

Here’s the announcement:

Interim Principal Appointed at Roaring Brook School

Thomas F. Russo, Ed.D., has been appointed to the position of Interim Principal at Roaring Brook Elementary School for the 2014-2015 school year.

Dr. Russo has enjoyed a long career in education teaching middle school English in Manchester, Connecticut before becoming an administrator in Wethersfield and then Glastonbury.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State College followed by a master’s in education and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Connecticut. In addition to classroom teaching, Dr. Russo was also very involved in school life beyond the classroom.

He coached boys’ and girls’ soccer, girls’ softball, organized ski club trips, advised the Student Council, and chaperoned French Club trips to Canada. He also created innovative alternate education programs for students who could not find success in the traditional school setting.

It was in these early days that he started his 30 years of participation with Project Concern, now known as the CHOICE program. Dr. Russo has always been very interested in finding ways to integrate and take full advantage of developing technology to enrich all aspects of teaching, learning, and leading.

As the principal of Smith Middle School in Glastonbury, Dr. Russo refined his leadership skills in a committed and caring community that supported educational programs and strong schools.

He worked with all town support and social agencies, parents, and community leaders to create an academically demanding school environment that reached out to all children. He believes strongly that schools are places where children should be constantly challenged and given opportunities to find and develop their strength and talents at the right developmental moment.

Most recently, Dr. Russo has spent his time continually engaged in the role of interim principal and educational consultant in the towns of East Granby, Cromwell, and last year at Natchaug Elementary School in Windham.

In the evenings, he is an adjunct professor in the Educational Leadership Department at CCSU teaching graduate level courses to aspiring leaders to develop their skills and competency resulting in state certification as administrators. Currently, Dr. Russo supervises nine administrative interns in a wide variety of school districts in addition to teaching seminar courses.

This summer, Dr. Russo completed an Executive Coach training program provided by the Connecticut Association of Schools in conjunction with LEAD Connecticut to further refine his ability to guide others in reaching their highest performance potentials.

We are very pleased to secure the services of Dr. Russo for the coming school year particularly during the leadership team transition period at Roaring Brook School. Tom brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role specifically in the areas of planning and providing focused, meaningful professional development, integrating technology to support high quality instruction and team building.

The appointment of Dr. Russo is being made after the comprehensive search and selection process for a permanent replacement was unsuccessful. He is expected to begin his position on August 18, 2014.