Branding has become a big deal as Burrillville Public Schools, like most other districts, faces increasing enrollment competition from expanding school choice programs. With state aid dropping, marketing and promoting all of the “wonderful things happening” each day have become a much higher priority for Superintendent Michael Sollitto and his team
Burrillville Public Schools has just completed a district-wide rebranding, which eliminated all logos and mascots except for a few district-approved Burrillville Broncos logos. All text and fonts have also been made uniform in the rural, five-school district, says Sollitto, Rhode Island’s 2024 superintendent of the year.
“There are no longer colts, mustangs, stars and star horses,” Sollitto tells District Administration. “’We are all Broncos’ is our rallying call and this has allowed us to have PK-12 events that are streamlined with common messaging and themes.”
The success of the rebranding relied on parent organizations adopting the unified Burrillville Bronco mascot for fundraisers and other events and school-based merchandise and clothing. High school students also highlight the brand when they visit elementary and middle schools to promote CTE and academic programs.
Sollitto recently chatted (virtually) with DA about career pathways, long-term K12 funding and the impacts of social media, among other issues.
1. DA: What are the most exciting things happening at Burrillville Public Schools?
Sollitto: “Over the last five years, Burrillville has greatly expanded our career pathway programs. In order to achieve this, we created a career and technical education advisory board composed of educators, students, business professionals and community partners. In the 2022-2023 school year, Burrillville entered into a collaborative partnership with the Eleanor Slater Hospital Zambrano unit. This partnership provides experiential learning opportunities for career and technical education students across several areas including biomedical science, environmental science, construction management and graphic communications.
Over the past several summers, we have implemented enrichment programs for our students. The development of summer programs for students has included music camp, art camp, robotics and stem activities, guitar ensemble, math and reading tutoring, book club, math camp, writing ramp-up, kindergarten readiness, conscious discipline, PSAT/SAT preparation and a Bedtime Stories program. The unique Bedtime Stories program is aimed at our youngest learners. Each night from mid-July to the end of August, a virtual read-aloud is held with a different educator reading to students that attend via Google Meet. At the next night’s story time, the previous night’s book is raffled off to those in attendance from the previous night.
2. What are the biggest challenges your district is facing right now?
“One major concern that we have is our long-term financial outlook. In the past few years, state aid has fluctuated greatly. Rhode Island uses a state-aid formula to determine the amount of funding that each public school district receives on a year-to-year basis. Over the past several years, there have been big swings with large losses of revenue in many cases. This makes budgeting difficult and unpredictable. Adding to this issue is the upcoming expiration of ESSER funds and a continuation of escalating prices.
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Another issue is an increase in teacher turnover. Several teachers have chosen to leave the profession and our applicant pool is much lower than in previous years. Luckily, we have been able to staff our classrooms with qualified and certified educators. However, it is becoming increasingly challenging to maintain this. High-need areas such as science and mathematics are particularly difficult to fill.”
3. Have you seen an increase in student misbehavior over the last few years? How is social media influencing students’ behavior?
“We have not seen a tremendous increase in student misbehavior over the past few years during the school day. However, the social media influence has increased incidents outside of school. Oftentimes, these carry over to school and create contentious incidents with individual students or groups of students. Social media posts, Tik Tok challenges and other internet hazards can have a negative impact on students’ social and emotional well-being.”
4. What are the keys to your leadership philosophy, and how do these contribute to your district’s success?
“As superintendent, it is imperative that the values and principles of the community are modeled, supported and fostered. Empowering staff members to improve their practice is a part of the culture of Burrillville Schools. Over the past few years, we have had numerous staff members that have been supported in their efforts to improve their craft. This includes multiple opportunities for leadership and professional growth; many times, this has resulted in staff members and schools receiving distinguished recognition.
The following professional recognitions and awards are just some examples of the accolades received:
- Special Olympics Rhode Island Unified Champion Schools
- Certified Kindness Schools
- Model School Conference Presentations
- Milken Award Recipient 2022
- SkillsUSA National Educator of the Year 2022
- SkillsUSA National Educator of the Year 2023
- Rhode Island Business Official of the Year 2023
- Rhode Island Mathematics Teachers Association Outstanding Teacher of the Year 2023
- Rhode Island School Psychologist of the Year 2023
- Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Finalist 2023″
5. How would you describe your stress levels, and how do you relieve stress?
“As we all know, self-care cannot be overlooked! It is important to try to set specific times to unplug and spend time with loved ones. Personally, I find that exercising on a regular basis helps to keep my stress levels manageable. Walking, biking, weight training, sporting activities and yoga are regularly practiced.”
