Chris Melillo looks back on the last two years as Newtown School Board member

After two years as school superintendent, Chris Melillo officially resigned from his position on June 30, at the end of the school year. Melillo had previously announced in early April that he would resign and take over as the next principal of Ox Ridge Elementary School in Darien.

Melillo says leaving Newtown is “surreal,” but he still looks back with pride at the accomplishments he and his team have made over the past two years. While it was the perfect time to take on the position and help the community, it was also a difficult one.

Melillo says he came into office with a need to address a host of problems, including a labor shortage due to a shortage of bus drivers, behavioral therapists and paraprofessionals, as well as a budget crisis after funds earmarked for pandemic relief from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) program ran out.

Despite the initial difficulties of taking office, Melillo was determined to meet the needs of students and families. He said he and his team worked hard to communicate with contractors and vendors to provide staff and to maintain all support during and after the pandemic through financial responsibility.

His mission when he took on the role, he said, was to help students both academically and emotionally coming out of a COVID environment. As students struggled with ongoing learning loss, he felt it was imperative to create an academically focused environment that also took care of students’ emotional well-being.

Melillo said helping to develop and implement a strategic plan for the district to address these issues is one of the accomplishments of his two-year term that he is most proud of.

Melillo expressed his deep gratitude to his administrative team, as well as staff, teachers, families and students for their continued support, and said he would love to serve the community as superintendent. He said he made it a point to be visible and available in the community through his monthly newsletters and his open office hours on Wednesday mornings, where anyone who wanted to could stop by and talk to him.

Although he says his departure is bittersweet, Melillo adds that the successes he spoke of “came at a price” and that he had some health issues during his time as superintendent. He says moving into the role of elementary school principal will also give him more time to be with his family, especially his two sons, one 18 and the other 21, who are heading off to college.

“My contract ran through 2026, so I could have stayed here, but I couldn’t stay here at the expense of myself or the district,” Melillo explained. “Something had to be given up, and I didn’t want to shortchange Newtown by being more present in my family’s life, and I didn’t want to shortchange my family by doing what I needed to do here, so I had to find something else.”

Moving into this position also marks a return to Melillo’s roots, as he previously served as assistant principal at Thomas Edison Middle School in Meriden before becoming principal at Shepherd Glen Elementary School in Hamden.

He says the transition from assistant superintendent to superintendent was a natural process after serving in the role of assistant superintendent and then interim superintendent at Hamden Public Schools. However, Melillo added that he eventually felt a desire to “do something different.”

“The reality is that I’m the first person to preach that you have to love what you do and do what you love, and my true love is working in a school where I have the opportunity to interact with families, students and teachers,” Melillo explained. “And so the expectation that people had at this point in my career was that I would be moving on to another position as a principal, but that’s not the case.”

When asked if, in retrospect, there was anything he would have liked to have done during his time in Newtown and if he was happy with the legacy he left behind, Melillo said, “When you’re happy with the work you’ve done, it’s time to retire.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied with the work we’ve done,” Melillo said. “I think the best way to put it is: We’ve done a lot of good. And I wish I was here longer to do more, but I think when I leave, the district is set up for success. And that’s really the most important thing to me.”

Melillo is excited to take on the role of principal at Ox Ridge. He says he has visited the school several times but has yet to fully integrate and understand the needs there.

“The first thing we’re going to do is create a strong culture and atmosphere in this building; really build relationships between staff, students, myself, parents and community members, because that’s really important to get the work done that needs to be done. You have to build that trust and those relationships right from the start,” Melillo said.

In addition to his role as Ox Ridge’s chancellor, Melillo will also serve as an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University this summer, teaching graduate courses.

While the school board continues to search for a permanent principal, Dr. JeanAnn Paddyfote was unanimously appointed interim principal at a meeting on June 24. Paddyfote’s appointment was effective July 1, and she will hold the position until December 31, or until a new principal is hired.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at [email protected].

Christopher Melillo officially resigned from his position as superintendent of schools on Sunday, June 30. He was originally appointed to the position in May 2022 and served for two years. He will become principal of Ox Ridge Elementary School in Darien and an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University. —Bee file photo