In an interview with NorwalkNet this morning, Mr. Polselli said that he was attracted to the position in Norwalk because he is “up for the challenge” and that he thinks he can have a “wonderful impact” on the school system.
Dr. Polselli, 36, has been the IT Director of the Middletown Public Schools for the past eight years and before that he held the same position in Killingly Public Schools in upstate Connecticut. Before his move to the Central Office, Dr. Polselli was an English and Computer teacher for high school and middle school students. He also has taught Computer Sciences on a college level.
Dr. Polselli has an education doctorate in Computing in Education from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, as well a Masters in English/Secondary Education from Worcester State and a Master's in Educational Leadership from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. He wrote his doctorate on "Combining Web-Based Training and Mentorship to Improve Technology Integration in the K-12 Classroom."
Mr. Polselli, who is starting the new job on January 11th, said he has two priorities upon arriving in Norwalk—data and communication.
“My priority is to create systems that allow teachers, administrators and the IT department to use data effectively to make good decisions,” he said. “We need to use data constantly and it should be easy for everyone to use.”
Mr. Polselli thinks that technology plays a key role in implementing “common formative assessments" that measure student progress.
In addition, he wants to introduce technology tools into classrooms to help teachers get instant feedback.
“There are tools, like clickers, that help teachers know instantly whether kids are grasping concepts,” he said noting that Middletown has used tools like this for the past four years to great success. “This allows teachers to change their instruction daily spending more time on certain things and less on others.”
With regards to communication, Mr. Polselli intends to revamp the NPS website and allow for teachers and administrators throughout the district to interact with the site easily, posting their own documents.
Dr. Polselli believes his background in the classroom is invaluable.
“I really understand the day to day in a classroom and what can help to make the classroom better,” he said. “Something that works in the business world is not necessarily what can help teachers and students.”
“My goal is to improve the lives of children. Central office is secondary,” he said.
“Bob is a visionary leader,” said Craig Creller, a consultant for CREC and the former K-12 Math Supervisor in Middletown. “He created and improved upon the data collection systems in Middletown.”
“He is a teacher trainer and leader and has built capacity among the teachers. He’s very hands on and leads by example. Middletown has a 21st century school system because of him,” said Mr. Creller.
Kathleen Bengtson, Dr. Polselli's administrative assistant, is sad her boss is leaving Middletown. "He has been an inspiration. He has a passion for technology and how it can really benefit kids."
Dr. Polselli flies to his current job in Middletown which he said has been "fantastic". He expects that his daily commute to Norwalk will be just over one hour.
When asked how his commute will be affected by bad weather and late nights at the office, Dr. Polselli said that he actually trains other pilots to fly in bad weather and does not foresee many days when the weather will be bad enough to ground his flights. He is planning to purchase a small condo in the area to give him flexibility. Further, he added that he does not think of his job as 9-5 and he often logs into work remotely on nights and weekends.
Outside of work, Dr. Polselli volunteers for Angel Flight Northeast, a non-profit organization that provides free flights to people requiring medical care, and coaches his children’s soccer games.
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