Russell Grecco
Principal
Atlantic County Special Services School District, 1450 19th Street, Mays
Landing, NJ 08330
Category: Secondary Principal - Southern Region
Mr. Grecco has been principal of the Atlantic County Special Services School District for over seven years. He served as a teacher, supervisor of special services, director of curriculum, instruction and staff development and principal during his over 30 year career.
"One of the biggest challenges of my professional career has been helping youth with disabilities find success in our world. Many of our students are severely developmentally delayed and at-risk children with emotional needs. I felt that a unique curriculum had to be designed to meet the needs of these special young people."
This is a challenging population for educators to plan for, but Mr. Grecco sees that challenge as an opportunity. " I truly believe that students with any disability can find success and happiness if they are given the right tools to use in life."
The mission of the Atlantic County Special Services School District is to provide students with a caring and supportive environment that fosters the development of their individual strengths and meets their highly specialized needs. Over the past six years, the district has received six successive School-to-Career grants that were used to develop a School to Career program that has received state and national recognition. Partnerships with business associated with this program have led to high student achievement, reduced student drop out rates and a 70-80% job placement rate.
"Under Russ’s leadership," says Superintendent H. Mark Stanwood, "the culture of his school is extraordinarily positive and most supportive of results driven programs aimed at successful transition to work. He has met the most challenging of circumstances by surrounding himself with people who support our mission, our vision, and our commitment." He noted that the programs designed by Mr. Grecco are in such demand that the district has registered with the copyright office and are pursuing licensing rights for software.
One of Mr. Grecco’s teachers focused on another aspect of the Special Services School District. "Our school is without question a school filled with love and care for children with disabilities. Russ has a way about him that makes others want to do their individual best. His positive nature is infectious."
And, as a student so sincerely wrote, "With the confidence Russ Grecco has helped me to achieve, I know I can reach my goals. He is a principal with a heart that cares about his students."