WELLINGTON HONORS LONGTIME EDUCATOR

Wellington’s village council on Tuesday night honored a longtime educator in the village who recently retired after 10 years at the helm of Wellington High School.

Mario Crocetti began his career in 1983, teaching math and science at Crestwood Middle School in Royal Palm Beach and became assistant principal there in 1986. He transferred in 1993 to become assistant principal of Royal Pines School, a small, district-run elementary school that operated for several years behind Wellington Landings Middle School.

Crocetti took over as principal of Wellington Landings in 1997, and in 2008 became principal of Wellington High.

The council presented Crocetti with a proclamation listing his accomplishments as an educator and recognizing him “for his many years of service with Palm Beach County Schools and his dedication to the Village of Wellington and its residents.”

Over those decades in the community, Crocetti “changed education in this village,” said Vice Mayor John McGovern, who attended Crestwood when Crocetti was a teacher there.

“You brought excellence to every school, and then it was not only that you brought excellence but that you sustained it year in and year out,” McGovern said.

MayorAnneGerwigthanked the former principal, whose last day on the job was Feb. 28, for his years of dedication to Wellington and his work at the high school. “It really is a true community school,” she said.

Councilman Michael Napoleone noted that his son will attend Wellington High in a few years. “He will benefit from the foundation you laid for those schools,” Napoleone said.

“I definitely appreciate all the support over the years from the village of Wellington,” Crocetti said. “I don’t think there’s another community in this state who does as much for its schools, its students and its teachers as the village of Wellington.”

Crocetti also thanked his wife, Annette, for her support. “All the evenings away and weekends as well, she’s been a trouper throughout it all and very supportive,” he said.

Cara Hayden, formerly the principal of Starlight Cove Elementary School, took over the reins from Crocetti as principal of Wellington High.

KRISTINA WEBB / THE PALM BEACH POST Wellington Vice Mayor John McGovern (from left), Councilwoman Tanya Siskind, Mayor Anne Gerwig, Mario Crocetti, Annette Crocetti, and Councilmen Michael Napoleone and Michael Drahos pose for a photo after the village council honored Mario Crocetti with...