Ready to contribute his expertise to a collaborative environment of growth, best practices and student success in the classroom, Richard Leone swapped his retirement plans for his new post as a Curriculum Administrator with Summit Academy Schools.
“After a couple months out of education, I realized how much I miss working with staff and students,” says the 24-year veteran public education leader, teacher and coach.
Leone most recently served as the assistant superintendent and high school principal for Perry Local Schools. Earlier, he was the director of secondary education and the middle school principal for Wooster City Schools for 12 years. Prior, Leone served as a teacher, coach, athletic director and assistant principal for Chippewa Local Schools, collectively, for eight years.
“I am excited to have Rich as a curriculum team member. He brings a wide range of public-school experience,” says Curriculum Director Mari Dew. “Adding Rich to the team increases our team’s collective knowledge and gives a fresh set of eyes to analyze data, evaluate processes and question assumptions.”
As the curriculum administrator for Summit Academy Schools in Akron, Canton and Lorain, Leone will work with instructional, data and literacy coaches to enhance teaching and assessment practices. He says the impression he received from his new colleagues during the interviewing process confirmed his commitment to Summit Academy.
“After meeting with the administration and curriculum team at Summit, I was very impressed by the people and the mission of Summit,” he says.
In addition to his licensures as an Ohio superintendent, principal and 7-12 social studies teacher, Leone holds a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from The University of Akron and Bachelor of Science in Education from Youngstown State University. “I am a proud Youngstown State alum who attends a lot of their football and basketball games,” he says.
On the home front, Leone is a proud father and husband. He and his wife, Megan, a Perry Local Schools teacher, have three children and pup, Sonny, a cockapoo. Their daughter, Giulianna, is an Ohio State University student majoring in exercise science. Sons Gino, a sophomore at Perry High School, and Vinny, a freshman at Perry, both play soccer and run track.