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05/31/2016 12:00 AMEach year the Connecticut Parent Teacher Association (CT PTA) hosts an awards ceremony honoring achievements of its member schools, as well as outstanding teachers and administrators. Philip Piazza, principal of North Haven Middle School (NHMS), was the 2016 recipient of the Middle School Outstanding Administrator award.
“It was a really great honor,” said Piazza. “I didn’t expect to win, but it was nice to be recognized and get recognition for our school.”
The NHMS PTA nominated Piazza for the award. Award criteria included leadership and learning, communication, community involvement, and professionalism. The nomination was accompanied by letters of recommendation from colleagues, parents, teachers, and more.
“One thing that stuck out across the board were the recommendations and the broad scope of who they came from,” said Jennifer Falocito, Connecticut PTA vice president of membership. “All of the recommendations had the same message of how wonderful he was and what an impact he has made in the school.”
Members of the Connecticut PTA then reviewed all of the nominations before making their final selections. Piazza was informed by letter and invited to an awards banquet, which he attended with his wife, children, and in-laws, as well as several staff members from NHMS.
The PTA used remarks from the collected letters in an introduction for Piazza for his award at the ceremony. Piazza noted that several staff members have since shared their recommendation letters with him.
“That was the first I had heard any of the letters and that was really nice and very humbling,” said Piazza, who spoke briefly at the ceremony. “I was quick to say that a good leader surrounds himself with great people. I’ve got great people here who make my job easier. This type of award is symbolic of all of the work the staff is doing—we’re doing a lot of great things and these are exciting times.”