Freccero to retire from high school on June 30
Date: 6/14/2010
June 14, 2010. By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
EAST LONGMEADOW -- The freshman baseball team has given him an autographed ball. The football team has awarded him a jersey. There was a dogwood tree planted in his honor and the horseshoe thoroughfare in front of East Longmeadow High School (ELHS) has been renamed in his honor.
All of these gestures have been made to note the retirement of ELHS Principal Richard Freccero. On June 30, Freccero will leave his position after 23 years.
The reaction from the students has been "very gratifying," Freccero said in an interview with
Reminder Publications last week.
After serving as an English teacher in the Brookline school system and as an assistant principal in the Scituate system, Freccero came to East Longmeadow.
He admitted readily that being a principal for a high school for 23 years was "much longer than most [serve.]"
Principals have to deal with what Freccero called "cross pressures" -- listening to several sides of an issue and reaching a decision, while knowing that the final outcome might not satisfy everyone.
His long tenure gives him the perspective to see and evaluate the changes in public education. Among the most significant events has been the advent of the MCAS test and its impact on teaching.
He believes the additional accountability the MCAS puts onto school has been positive, while he said he "sees both sides" of the debate on its effect on the curriculum.
Freccero noted with pride how students and staff "rise to the occasion" of the MCAS.
He did add the downside of the MCAS is that teachers have "lost some of the creativity."
"They don't have the time," he added. "Teachers are very concerned about what needs to be taught."
The other trend he has seen is an increase in parental involvement.
"Parents want to be much more current in how their child is doing," he said.
He explained that parents have played a key role in funding activities ranging from athletics to the drama club to the robotics club through booster programs.
He has given parents a standing invitation to walk through the high school at any time
While there is more pressure on high school students today to excel and to make decisions affecting their careers, Freccero said today's students are better prepared.
"They seem much more worldly, more in tune with what's happening," he explained.
Unlike other school districts, Freccero said East Longmeadow has been fortunate to have level funding for the past two years, which has prevented layoffs and other budget cuts. Although controversial, he added, the school busing fee and athletic fees have also helped stabilize the school's economic picture.
At age 58, Freccero said he is now thinking about a second career. He is taking the advice of recently retired Fire Chief Robert Wallace and will wait three months before taking any action.
He did say that he would seek employment outside of education and added he has been thinking about perhaps a role in the court system as a youth advocate.
Whatever his final choice about the next phase of his life, Freccero said he has been thankful that ELHS has been "just a good place to run."
