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Date: 7/15/2020
EAST LONGMEADOW – After nine years on the East Longmeadow School Committee and a lifetime in education, Richard Freccero has retired, but he’s not done working to improve education.
“I’ve always been interested in education. The greatest thing in the world is a teenager,” said the former East Longmeadow High School principal. “I have mixed feelings. It’s very bittersweet,” he told Reminder Publishing.
Freccero has spent 43 years in education, working as a coach, a teacher, a principal and most recently on the school committee. He was first elected to the school committee in 2011 and served three consecutive terms.
“My nine years was represented by a very collaborative, very responsive relationship,” working with school administrations, teachers, the town council and the community, Freccero said.
Three recent initiatives stick out to Freccero as those he is most proud of accomplishing in his time on the committee. The “one- to-one” initiative provided chromebooks for every student in grades three through 12. Without that infrastructure in place, Freccero said, the transition to remote learning when the pandemic hit would have been much harder.
Freccero said he is also proud of fully staffing the social-emotional learning program throughout the district to “take care of all [the students’] needs.”
Finally, he noted the creation of a community-wide diversity group in the fall of 2019. Working with the Center for Leadership and Educational Equity, Freccero said the district is conducting an ongoing “extensive study” of policies and systemic conditions, from hiring practices to which student cohorts take advanced placement classes.
Freccero retired from the school committee because, “I felt like it was time for me to take a step back.”
That doesn’t mean Freccero has completely left education behind. He is an adjunct professor of education at American International College in Springfield, teaching the next generation of teachers and educators. He also works as a patient advocate in the emergency room at Baystate Medical Center.
As a member of the Knights of Columbus 4306 and UNICO, Freccero raises scholarship money for East Longmeadow students in his free time.
“I always wanted to give to people. That’s why I love education,” said Freccero.
Although he only just retired, Freccero said he hasn’t completely ruled out the idea of running again someday if there is no one to fill a vacancy on the school committee. He also is considering volunteering with the town in other ways.
Freccero said, “This town has given me a great life and I do what I can to give back.”