A new year and a new Principal bring new expectations

Danielle Sorcher & Kate Howard
Special Reports Director & News Editor

As summer ends and the 2011-2012 year rolls around, school starts with new leadership under Principal Bryan Luizzi, the successor of Principal Tony Pavia. Previously the 5-year Principal of Brookefield High School, Dr. Luizzi aims to become an active participant in the NCHS community.

Dr. Luizzi recognizes the “strong and vibrant community focused on helping students excel” in New Canaan and doesn’t plan to change that. “It’s a great school community. The students, staff and community all work together to help it be a great place,” he said. “I would be crazy to come in and say I’m going to change all that, right on day one,” he said. Dr. Luizzi also said that he does not plan to switch to a block schedule at this time, nor does he intend to close campus.

However, some new projects are being considered. Dr. Luizzi said that the use of the online Powerschool Portal would continue while the administration opens discussion in the fall on additional ways to involve technology to further enhance the home-school connection. “One of the conversations we’re going to begin is having [the Powerschool Portal]open all the time,” he said. This means that students and parents could access their grades at all times, not just at the end of every quarter. “It’s a conversation I’ll be starting in the fall with the teachers about what that would look like,” Dr. Luizzi said.

Dr. Veronica LeDuc, the new Assistant Prinicipal, who worked for 3 years as a chemistry teacher with Dr. Luizzi at Brookefield High School, said that Mr. Luizzi took great initiatives to incorporate technology into the curriculum. “He has a real understanding of the opportunities the proper use of technology can bring to education,” she said. “He really values the vistas that technology can open up and he understands the problems we have to face as well.”

Another new project Dr. Luizzi said to expect starting this year iis NCHS’ self-study for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). “They come every ten years, visit the school and give us our accreditation. Before they come, you spend about a year and a half doing a self-study about the school,” he said. “So we’ll have seven different committees set up, and each committee will be looking at one aspect of the school. Down the line we’re going to be asking some students to join in those committees and be part of the discussions. It’s a great opportunity to be part of a group that’s reflecting on who we are.”

As an experienced Principal, Dr. Luizzi emphasized how decision-making is based around communication and collaboration. “I don’t come with a pre-set recipe, I’ve learned that’s not how it works,” he said. “What I do know is we get together, talk about what we’re doing, learn about what’s working well and find ways to do more of that. We do our best to identify areas where we can do better, and we look to see if we make some changes there.”

Dr. Luizzi said he is looking forward to building his relationship with the students through an open-door policy, stressing the importance of student voice. He said that students should expect for him to begin conversations. “Expect to see me around, expect for me to come up and start talking to you, and not to be surprised if I ask questions trying to understand how they see things. Student voice is very important in high school, it’s really important for students to feel that the things they say matter,” he said. “To me, what makes it fun to be in schools [is]having the opportunity to see me walking around school, in the mornings, during lunches. I also think it’s fun to go in and out of classes, to sit down for five minutes and maybe answer a question. That’s fun, because it keeps me connected to the most important thing that happens in schools, which is what happens in the classes.”

Superintendent David Abbey thinks highly of Dr. Luizzi’s enthusiasm in getting connected with both students and teachers. “I think he’s a wonderful balance in terms of his people skills and his affinity for people, [and]his desire to work with people in a highly collaborative manner,” Dr. Abbey said. “He also has a great knowledge and passion for curriculum and instruction.”

Looking ahead at the upcoming year, Dr. Luizzi said he is excited and eagerly anticipating his transition into the culture of NCHS. “I come here knowing that it is a very high-performing school, and by that I mean academically, the standards are very high; athletically, the teams do very well and people take a great deal of pride in that; the arts, the drama performances and the art exhibits and the other things I’ve already seen have just blown me away,” he said. “That’s part of what drew me to New Canaan, the opportunity to be a part of a school that has a great sense of pride in what it does. It works very hard to be the best at whatever it’s doing, and it has a lot of school spirit.”