New high school princpal named

The Board of Education unanimously approved the hiring of Frank Rizzuto as the school’s new head. He succeeds John H. Fidler II, who died July 30 while hiking Mount Katadhin in Maine with his family.

EAST HAMPTON — A South Windsor educator has been chosen as the new principal for East Hampton High School.

The Board of Education unanimously approved the hiring of Frank Rizzuto as the school’s new head. He succeeds John H. Fidler II, who died July 30 while hiking Mount Katadhin in Maine with his family.

Rizzuto will begin working on a transition with interim Principal Nancy Briere Dec. 12, and will take over as principal Jan. 7, Superintendent of Schools Paul K. Smith said. Rizzuto is associate principal at South Windsor High School, a position he has held for the past six years.

“Frank has a magnetic personality that puts people at ease,” Smith said in announcing Rizzuto’s hiring.

“I feel like he’s a great fit” for the high school, Smith said.

He was chosen from among 30 applicants, Smith said.

“That’s a pretty good number for a principal’s position,” Smith said, adding, “I was very pleased with the quality of the candidates.”

“We put them through an extensive round of interviews,” Smith said of the applicants.

Smith assembled a 28-member interview panel, made up of eight

students, four parents and 16 teachers, Smith said.

The panel then divided into two committees that met with the individual candidates.

One committee discussed academics, while the other committee discussed school and student life with the applicants, Smith said.

It was an opportunity for the candidates to demonstrate that they would be a good fit for the school and for the town, Smith said.

A Glastonbury resident, Rizzuto is married to a teacher.

The couple “have twin boys who are just about to turn 1-year-old,” Smith said.

Rizzuto introduced his wife Sarah and the boys, Matteo and Raphael, at the school board meeting during which his hiring was approved.

Rizzuto earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Connecticut in 1997.

He subsequently earned a master’s degree in teaching from Sacred Heart University in 2001 and a six-year administration certificate from UConn in 2010.

In 2001, he began as a social studies teacher at South Windsor High School, while also serving as varsity girls tennis coach.

He continued in that position until 2012, when he stepped up to become one of three associate principals at the school.

He had served as administrative internship at Bolton High School from 2008-10 to prepare for the transition to administration, according to his resume.

Smith said Rizzuto has also participated in two accreditation reviews on behalf of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

The high school is coming up on a NEASC review.

Rizzuto is excited by the prospect of taking over as principal, Smith said.

Given the circumstances that led to his appointment, “he also understands what he’s walking into,” Smith said.

“He is aware that he has to be sensitive to tradition while also being able to move the school forward in a new direction,” Smith said.

In the interview process, Rizzuto was asked directly about navigating that difficult path of both honoring Fidler’s legacy while steering the school in a new direction, Smith said.

In response, Smith said, Rizzuto indicated he has a sincere interest in being here to begin the transition.

“He’s excited about the opportunity of coming to East Hampton and as well as the opportunity to begin moving the school in a new direction,” Smith said.

Smith also acknowledged that he would have had to begin the process of finding a new principal over the next couple of years.

Without saying so directly, Fidler had signaled he was going to begin winding down his 27-year career at the East Hampton school, Smith said.

That fact in no way lessens the continuing sense of loss that he and the school community feel about Fidler’s death, Smith said.

Rizzuto