New Schools Superintendent Named In Wallingford

WALLINGFORD, CT — The Wallingford Board of Education appointed Danielle Bellizzi as the district’s new Superintendent of Schools at a special meeting on Wednesday.

Bellizzi succeeds Salvatore Menzo, who announced in April that he was leaving the district after 12 years to become the new Superintendent of Goodwin University Magnet Schools on July 1. Bellizzi’s appointment is effective immediately.

Bellizzi, a Berlin resident, has served as Wallingford’s Assistant Superintendent for Personnel for the past three years. She began her educational career teaching grades 1 and 5 at Mary E. Griswold Elementary School in Berlin. In 2003, her family relocated to Gaithersburg, Maryland, where she served for five years as an elementary reading interventionist and consultant at Highland Elementary School in Silver Spring, according to a news release.

Bellizzi returned to Connecticut in 2008 and went back to the classroom, this time at Emma Hart Willard Elementary School in Berlin. In 2010, she accepted a position as an elementary instructional support teacher at Farm Hill Elementary School, a role she held for three years. She moved into administration with a one-year post as Assistant Principal of John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Windsor. In July, 2014, Bellizzi moved to Wallingford to serve as principal of Pond Hill Elementary School where she remained for four years. She was tapped as Wallingford’s Assistant Superintendent for Personnel in August 2018.

“The Wallingford Board of Education began the search for a new Superintendent of Schools shortly after learning that Dr. Salvatore Menzo, our Superintendent of Schools for the past 12 years, was pursuing a new employment opportunity with Goodwin University,” Wallingford Board of Education Chairperson Karen Hlavac said in a statement. “Our Board of Education members were impressed with the caliber of applicants for this important educational leadership position. Ms. Danielle Bellizzi was selected from a talented field of professional educators to lead our district. Ms. Bellizzi is a compassionate and energetic individual with extensive knowledge of our school district and an uncompromising commitment to our students here in Wallingford. She will provide the educational leadership necessary for our district as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and address the educational, social and emotional issues and needs generated by that public health crisis.”

Bellizzi received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Studies and Sociology from Quinnipiac University, her Master’s of Arts in Elementary Education from St. Joseph College, her Sixth Year from the University of Connecticut, and Advanced Official Certificate from Central Connecticut State University.

“It is truly an honor to be newly appointed as the Wallingford Superintendent of Schools,” Bellizzi said. “I am excited to lead in a district that values the education of all students while inspiring them to recognize their strengths and achieve their fullest potential.”

The school board was guided in its search by Dr. Mary Broderick of CABE Search Services. She gathered perspectives from many stakeholders before writing a Leadership Profile intended to guide the Board in its search for a new leader, according to the news release.