Dr. Gerald N. Tirozzi
Introduction Dr. Pisapia Large Small (Addressing Change: From Policy to Practice)
 

Dr. Gerald N. Tirozzi is the Executive Director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).  He assumed leadership of NASSP in March 1999. NASSP is the preeminent organization and the national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and aspiring school leaders.  A native of Connecticut, Dr. Tirozzi is a nationally recognized leader in education reform, having spent over 45 years working to improve teaching and learning for all students by promoting high academic standards and initiating major teaching reforms.  From 1996-1999, Dr. Tirozzi served as Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education, a position appointed by President Clinton.  As Assistant Secretary, Dr. Tirozzi oversaw the administration of 42 federal education programs that represented an $11 billion budget. Dr. Tirozzi served as Connecticut’s Commissioner of Education for eight years (1983-1991), and was responsible for many improvements in the state’s educational system. He played a major leadership role in developing and implementing the Connecticut Mastery Test, which received national recognition as an assessment model to promote high academic standards and expectations. In addition, he implemented major teaching reforms that promoted both higher salaries and standards, which were at the core of an unprecedented $300 million Educational Improvement Act from the Connecticut General Assembly (1986). He instituted the Connecticut Academy for School Executives, which improved the management and administrative skills of superintendents and central office staff. He developed the Connecticut Principals’ Academy, which enhanced the instructional leadership skills of building level administrators. Dr. Tirozzi has held other educational positions, which include a tenured professorship at the University of Connecticut’s Department of Educational Leadership, where his concentration was on urban education, educational policy, and the preparation of school superintendents (1993-1995); and the President of Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts (1991-1993). Dr. Tirozzi served as Superintendent in the New Haven (CT) Public Schools from 1977-1983. Other positions he held in that district included: principal, assistant principal, director of secondary education, director of middle schools, director of community schools, guidance counselor, and teacher.  Dr. Tirozzi is the author of numerous articles on educational topics, which have been published in educational and scholarly journals. In 2002, NASSP published Reflections on School Leadership, a collection of his writings and speeches. Dr. Tirozzi serves on a number of educational advisory boards. Currently, he is the Chairperson of the Learning First Alliance and the Vice President of the International Baccalaureate of North America Board of Directors. Dr. Tirozzi holds a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Educational Administration and Higher Education from Michigan State University.  He has a Sixth Year Certificate in Education Administration from Fairfield University in Connecticut.  He received a Master of Arts Degree in Guidance and Counseling and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education from Southern Connecticut State University.