3 Greenwich Public School Principals To Retire

GREENWICH, CT — Three Greenwich public school principals announced last week that they will retire at the end of the school year after years of dedication to education.

International School at Dundee Principal Teresa Ricci, North Mianus School Principal Angela Schmidt and her husband, Cos Cob School Principal Gene Schmidt, have a combined 133 years of experience as educators.

"I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you to them for decades of service to GPS," Superintendent of Greenwich Public Schools Dr. Toni Jones said during last week's Board of Education meeting.

Jones said the principals let the district know about their plans several weeks ago.

"We are hard at work on getting the process ready for an inclusive hiring process that will include engagement with families and staff. We will make that happen and be communicating with those communities," Jones said. "They're all so loved, so this is a big change."

Ricci has been the principal at ISD since 2003 after joining the school district in 1979, according to bio information from the school district. Over her career, Ricci has been a K-5, preschool, special education and summer school programs teacher, a district trainer of the Project Read program, and an administrator.

Prior to joining ISD in 2000, she was an assistant principal at Old Greenwich School.

Schmidt joined GPS in 2000, and has served as principal of North Mianus since 2009, the district said. She started her career in the district as a teacher and International Baccalaureate trainer at ISD. She then became assistant principal of Hamilton Avenue School, New Lebanon School and ISD.

At North Mianus, the school was chosen as a pilot for personalized learning. Schmidt helped lead the effort for the school to be recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2019.

Gene Schmidt has been the principal at Cos Cob since 2013. He came to the school district in 2000 as a teacher at ISD where he was recognized as a Distinguished Teacher in 2005, the district said.

Gene became an assistant principal at ISD and Julian Curtiss School.

Prior to coming to Greenwich, Gene was named as Teacher of the Year in a district in Florida. He earned a Fulbright exchange to teach in England.