BURRILLVILLE – The superintendent of the Burrillville School District has been named Administrator of the Year by Rhode Island Interscholastic League.
Supt. Michael Sollitto thanked the organization for the award in a message to families on Monday, May 24.
“It’s a great honor and it’s something that I think is a culmination of a lot of hard work behind the scenes by a lot of people – really indicative of what we try to do each ad every day here in Burrillville,” Sollitto said. “School athletics – middle school and high school in particular – are very important to the community.”
Hired in 2018 to replace retiring Supt. Frank Pallotta, Sollitto previously served as the assistant superintendent for the Scituate School Department and principal at Scituate High School.
He has a master’s in education from Rhode Island College and is an adjunct professor for Grand Canyon University and Concordia University. He also has a doctorate in education from Johnson and Wales University.
In 2020, the Burrillville School Committee renewed his contract leading the district for an additional two years.
A Scituate resident, Sollitto is also a member of the RIIL’s Principal Committee on Athletics, and on Monday, he said he was grateful for the chance to be part of conversation about bringing back sports after the pandemic.
Sollitto noted that playing sports is about much more than just winning or losing.
“Those are the real lessons that we want kids to learn: it’s teamwork collaboration, working together, thinking outside the box when you’re encountered with a situation that requires critical thinking skills – that’s a big part of high school athletics,” Sollitto said.
“It extends to the classroom and that’s what we’re really about as a community as a whole,” he said. “We’re one big community of learners.”
“I’m honored to be the recipient of the award.”
Sollitto will be honored at RIIL’s 9th annual award luncheon, scheduled for Wednesday, May 26.
