After a distinguished thirty-eight year career with the Greenwich Public Schools, Greenwich High School’s Bella House Administrator Richard Alessi has announced his retirement, effective June 30, 2016. Mr. Alessi has served as Bella House Administrator since 2012, and the head of the social studies department since 2007.
“Rich’s legacy is a powerful one,” GHS Headmaster Chris Winters said. “Always an innovator, he introduced team teaching (English/Social Studies) to Central Junior HS and was a mainstay of curriculum development projects in his years at Greenwich High School.”
Dr. Winters said that as Program Administrator, Mr. Alessi steered the department through a major set of revisions to bring it into compliance with the new state standards. Describing the effort as a sea change in curriculum revisions, he said it resulted in profound changes in both emphasis, more contemporary issues getting highlighted, and in methodology, a shift towards inquiry teaching and interpreting primary sources.
“His steady hand and emphasis on empowering the staff during these years of change were a hallmark of his leadership. He will be genuinely missed,” Dr. Winters said.
Starting in the 1978-1979 school year as a social studies teacher at the then Central Junior High School, he rapidly became the social studies department leader before transferring to Greenwich High School in 1985.
At GHS, he soon became a senior teacher/learning facilitator before assuming departmental leadership as Program Administrator in 2007. He was named the Bella House Administrator in addition to his program leadership responsibilities in 2012.
His love of baseball and commitment to students feeling connected to their school community, led Mr. Alessi to his roles as coach and club advisor. He was the Head Baseball Coach at Central Junior HS and Assistant Varsity coach at Greenwich High School for many years. He was club advisor supporting GHS students in initiating the 9/11 Day of Remembrance and Service Food Drive for Neighbor to Neighbor.
Mr. Alessi received a Bachelor of Science degree in English in 1975 and a Master of Science degree in early childhood education in 1981 from Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT. He received a Professional Diploma for advanced study in educational management from the University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT in 1984.