Ox Ridge principal retiring, will miss working with students

After 26 years of serving as the principal at Ox Ridge Elementary School, John Rechi decided it was time to move on and pursue other interests in his life.

"I had a mentor early in my career who told me the time to leave is before people want you to leave and while you still enjoy the job," Rechi said. "I felt it was time to do something a little different."

When Rechi first moved into the district in 1986 to take over as principal at the urging of a friend, Darien was in the process of reconfiguring the school system.

"They were reconfiguring the district and I thought it was a great opportunity. They were bringing in teachers from the five elementary schools, so it was pretty much a new staff," he said.

Once the student population started to grow again the district opened Holmes Elementary School again and Rechi was glad to welcome students back to Ox Ridge who had gone to a different school as part of the reconfiguring process.

"It was nice being able to welcome all those students back," he said.

However, serving as the principal of an elementary school for 26 years doesn't come without its challenges as Rechi was faced with the task of making sure the curriculum and teaching methods remained current.

"The staff and administrators are so highly qualified and so driven that even though it's hard work to remain current, it's good work," Rechi said. "I've really enjoyed watching the evolution of the curriculum over time."

More recent challenges for Rechi have involved carefully monitoring students with exceptional needs as well as providing support for kids and families in crisis.

"There has been an increase in the number of students and families in crisis more recently," he said.

Even with the daily challenges facing him Rechi was still pleased with what he accomplished during his tenure.

"I think one of my strengths is being able to seek out outstanding staff members. I'm also really proud of my relationships with parents. I've always maintained an open door policy and I think people appreciated that," Rechi said.

In addition to fostering a strong school community, Rechi said he was also behind the push to bring in full-time assistant principals.

"I will never forget that day because it was an election day and a professional development day and I was presenting my proposal for the full-time assistant principals. At the time we had two assistant principals who served the five schools and I thought the community deserved a full-time assistant principal at each of the schools."

Another highlight for Rechi was the induction of a Veteran's Day ceremony at Ox Ridge school which was first introduced by Hindley Elementary School Principal Rita Ferri while she worked at Ox Ridge.

"Rita was the one who brought it in and it has since grown to the point where we had 30 veterans participate in the program this year. The program gives students tremendous perspective about what these individuals sacrificed for us and I'm happy the program is now at each of the schools," Rechi said.

Rechi's sense of community and high expectations for student success have not gone unnoticed as Superintendent of Schools Stephen Falcone noted it would be difficult to fill his shoes.

"John's been the face of Ox Ridge for the past 26 years and the school has a tremendous culture he developed. It is a culture characterized by community and parent involvement and the students always come first," Falcone said. "Everything he has done has been about doing what's best for the kids."

Even though he will no longer work at Ox Ridge, Falcone said Rechi's legacy will live on in the culture he helped establish.

"You don't spend 26 years in the same place and have the culture change when you leave. The focus at Ox Ridge will continue to be about putting students first. That's not going to go away," Falcone said.

Secretary Mary Lay said she would miss Rechi after he departs because his character is so strong.

"He's going to be missed. He's just the best. He's so kind, and warm and welcoming," Lay said.

As for his own plans, Rechi has a few ideas of what he would like to do with his time but hasn't made any definite decisions at the moment.

"I would like to pursue something in education. Maybe serve in some interim positions when an administrator is gone or something like that. I'm really into antiques so I'm looking forward to some short trips around New England with my wife to look at some antiques," Rechi said.

Even with the prospect of more time to spend with family and to focus on his own hobbies, Rechi admits it won't be easy to leave the place that was a huge part of his life.

"I'm going to miss the daily contact with the children and I've gotten to know the kids and their families well. I'm going to miss collaborating with my fellow administrators and staff but I do have some great memories moving forward," he said. "When I walk out of this building on June 30 it's going to be a surreal moment. I hope these next few months go by really slowly."