As Staunton Schools announced a search for a new superintendent in March, Dr. Eric Irizarry was looking to make a move in his career and find his first role as a schools superintendent.
He became the candidate Staunton School Board determined the best fit for the community and the school system.
Irizarry (pronounced Ear-uh-ZAR-ee) was born in New Jersey, and grew up in New York and North Carolina.
“So when I think of my childhood, it’s a mix of living in rural North Carolina, rural coastal North Carolina and then visiting my father in New York City. Two different worlds, so it was a good perspective going from a Queens apartment down to a log cabin in Swansboro, N.C.”
While a culture shock, Irizarry said his childhood was a good experience of living close to the beach in N.C. and life in the city with his father.
Attending public school in N.C. was a good experience.
“One of the things that made me a good principal was I spent a lot of time in the principal’s office [as a youth] for more mischievous things, not necessarily bad things,” Irizarry said.
Irizarry said he was a smart student, but was probably not challenged enough at school so he did not take it seriously. As a school principal later, he was able to understand what students were going through and knew to ask the right questions because of his experience as a youth.
His keyboard teacher encouraged him to go to college. After earning his bachelor’s from UNC-Wilmington in 2002, he intended to become a physical therapist. But, then, he volunteered as a tutor in an inner city school.
“And, really, just fell in love with [teaching], fell in love with reading, talking to the kids and so halfway through my [college] career, decided I’d switch [to teaching],” Irizarry said.
He taught at a school in Wilmington, where his mentor encouraged him to earn his master’s degree if he really wanted to make a difference in education.
He earned a master’s degree from UNC-Wilmington during the Great Recession in 2009 and began teaching in a rural kindergarten through 8th grade charter school in Brunswick, North Carolina. In his position, he saw poverty, including families who lived in houses with dirt floors. During hunting season, school attendance decreased because students were out hunting to put food on their families’ tables.
As a principal, he opened a new middle school in New Hanover, N.C. and began a program through community partners which enabled students to learn about opportunities, such as karate, knitting and yoga.
“It was anything our students may not have access to in their daily lives. We brought it into the school system and it was just a really powerful way to connect our community to our students and our students with things they might not otherwise [experience],” Irizarry.
Hoping to move closer to family in Northern Virginia, Irizarry accepted a position as Charlottesville High School’s principal and brought his family to the Shenandoah Valley in 2017, just before the Unite the Right Rally.
“Through all of that, I think it really galvanized the community in Charlottesville city, it galvanized our students, it allowed us to do a lot of student leadership projects based on providing student support,” Irizarry said.
He said the time after the rally was “surreal” as he and school staff visited injured students in the hospital and provided support. The school also received threats and had to close one day because of the threats.
“It really allowed us to focus on that trauma-informed instruction. What are we doing to support our students? What are we doing to bring community resources around mental health into the school building?”
Despite the challenging times, curriculum continued to be important and graduation rates increased. Under Irizarry’s leadership, the high school aligned Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities with student needs.
Irizarry joins Staunton Schools after serving as Director of Equity and Family & Community Engagement for Albemarle County Schools so he understands the importance of the relationship between a city and its school system.
About Staunton, he told his mentor and family that he was not willing to make a move quickly, but a move that aligned with his values as a leader and a father. He and his wife, Raven Bruno, were looking for the right place to raise their children, ages 12 and 9, who will attend Staunton Schools.
“When Staunton came open, that was one of those school districts that we’d been following from that side of the mountain with the work that their staff has been doing, especially in the past eight years, to close gaps and increase graduation rates and really focusing in on what’s important.”
The Kindness Matters campaign begun by previous superintendent Dr. Garett Smith in 2021 caught Irizarry’s attention and he has no plans to end the program at Staunton Schools which he considers “one of the cornerstones to what we do here.”
Staunton‘s culture of the arts also attracted Irizarry and his family because both of his children are heavily involved in pursuits of the arts.
“And being in a smaller school system is something that has always appealed to me,” he said. He appreciates and understands the challenges of a smaller school system when it comes to staffing.
Irizarry looks forward to building a strong relationship between Staunton Schools and the city, and listening before he determines what challenges he and staff will take on, including the effects of federal funding cuts and the unknown on public school systems.
“I think it’s really listening to our families and our students and our staff on how can we continue to build on what makes Staunton City Schools strong.”
Staunton School Board Chair Dr. Kristin Siegel said that Irizarry stood out among candidates for superintendent for his enthusiasm and passion during the interview process.
“He was extremely personable and you could just tell that he would put his heart and soul into the position. We had a very difficult task — to try to replace a beloved superintendent who made incredibly meaningful connections, inspired confidence, and made our division one to be proud of,” Siegel said.
With “a fantastic slate of candidates,” Irizarry possessed a lot of the characteristics that the Staunton community told Staunton School Board they wanted in their next superintendent.
“His track record of community engagement, experience with career and college readiness, as well as academic results achieved during his tenure at Charlottesville High School and Albemarle County Public Schools made him stand out. Overall, we had a very difficult decision, but we feel confident that we made the best choice for our schools and our community,” Siegel said.
Irizarry thinks he made the best choice also by accepting the position. He will be able to bring school staff, families, students and the community together “to continue to build on the wonderful things that have been happening here in Staunton City Schools.” He will bring the right individuals to the table to form a strategic plan of next steps into the future.
“You’re going to see a lot of me in the schools and in the community. That’s just the way I’ve always led,” Irizarry said.
For Irizarry, Staunton Schools will provide an opportunity to lead a school system that is focused on student achievement and student wellbeing, and learning to be kind to one another.
“I think that’s something special, that’s something that makes Staunton City Schools special and that’s going to be a big part of my growth here as a school leader is learning from our community and our staff,” Irizarry said.
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Staunton Schools encourages resident input in search for new superintendent
Staunton Schools Superintendent retires, prepares next chapter as educational consultant
New Staunton Schools Superintendent looks to build on ‘solid foundation of success’
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Rebecca Barnabi
