Michael L. Rizzo, Westport’s director of pupil services for the past six years, has been appointed Weston’s first assistant superintendent of pupil personal services, Weston school officials announced today.
Michael Rizzo: special ed expert. Contributed photo
Rizzo assumes his new post effective July 1, replacing Lois Pernice, who has held the position for the past 11 years.
“Mr. Rizzo brings to Weston a proven record of collaborating with teachers, administrators, students, families, and board members on developing and implementing pupil personnel and special education programs that strive to help students of all backgrounds optimize their talents, abilities and interests, and achieve academic, social and emotional growth,” said Weston Schools Superintendent William McKersie
Rizzo has been an administrator in the Westport Public Schools since 2006, serving as an assistant principal at Coleytown Middle School with a focus on special education before becoming assistant director of pupil services and its current director.
According to the announcement, Weston’s new assistant superintendent’s position is due to the fact pupil personnel services and special education now represent about 20 percent of Weston’s students, 22 percent of the district’s operating budget, and “has become an area of far greater reach than a single department or a set of programs.”
According to his biography on the Westport school district website, Rizzo began his career in education as a language arts teacher in the Fairfield Public Schools.
It was during this time that he realized his passion for working with students with special education needs, and as a result, he pursued a degree from Fairfield University in special education, it said.
In leaving for Weston, Rizzo reverses a career path that saw Westport Schools Superintendent Colleen Palmer come to Westport after serving as superintendent in Weston.
