WHS’ Rossetti a finalist for national assistant principal award

Windham Assistant Principal Phil Rossetti 
has been named as a finalist for the
National Assistant Principal of the Year
Award. SUBMITTED PHOTO

The Maine Principals’ Association has announced that Maine Assistant Principal of the Year, Philip Rossetti, Assistant Principal at Windham High School, is a Finalist for the National Assistant Principal of the Year Award.

Rossetti will be honored by the MPA at its annual awards banquet at their Spring Conference on April at the Samoset Resort in Rockport.

The national finalist announcement highlighted Rossetti’s belief that people make mistakes, but it’s what they do after that defines who they are. He’s used this principle to transform how Windham High School manages student behavior, focusing on restorative justice to hold students accountable and repair the harm they caused their school community.

This restorative approach has improved school safety and reshaped school culture, fostering stronger relationships between students and turning mistakes into opportunities to learn.

Reflecting on Rossetti’s selection as a 2022 NASSP Assistant Principal of the Year Finalist, MPA Executive Director Dr. Holly Blair praised Rossetti.

“It is exciting that Mr. Rossetti has been recognized by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) as a finalist for the National Assistant Principal of the Year,” Blair said. “This is the first time that Maine has had a finalist in the program. Mr. Rossetti is an exceptional Assistant Principal and very much deserving of this honor. We are very proud of him.”

Rossetti started his educational career as a social studies teacher at Windham High School in 1996. In 2015, he became the Assistant Principal of South Portland High School before returning to Windham High School in 2016 where he continues to serve as Assistant Principal.

During an interview in December, Rossetti said that he had encouraging mentors and loving family members who helped guide him along the way.

“I was lucky to have good teachers and people who cared about education during my high school years,” Rossetti said. “Plus, I had very supportive parents who encouraged me to get an advanced education.”

Rossetti, who lived most of his childhood life in Casco, explained that both of his parents came from a long line of hardworking people, and although his mother and father’s traditional education ended early, they believed in the power of conventional study and held grand hopes of high achievement for their son.

“They believed that the only way to my own success was through education and encouraged me to go to college,” Rossetti said. “They told me they wanted me to have the opportunities that they didn’t have.”

In addition to his parents’ encouragement, Rossetti had a very engaging history teacher at Lakes Region High School where Rossetti’s formative years were created.

“It was the way my history teacher taught classes that made the lessons enjoyable,” Rossetti said. “Plus, he was one of those teachers who really cared about you. He was very encouraging to the students and wanted his students to succeed. This inspired me to follow in his footsteps. I remember thinking to myself one day, ‘I want to be a teacher just like him.’”

He is currently a member of the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and also serves as an assistant football coach for the school. <

Windham High’s Restorative Learning Program assists students in getting back on track

Windham High School's Restorative Learning
Program assists students who have been
suspended or expelled to remain engaged and
learning while also helping them take
steps to repair the damage of their actions.
COURTESY PHOTO

By Elizabeth Richards

Often, when high school students are suspended or expelled, they fall behind in their academics because of time spent out of school. The Restorative Learning Program at Windham High School is an innovative approach that keeps these students engaged and learning while helping them take steps to repair the damage of their actions.

WHS Assistant Principal Phil Rossetti said the program began as part of a grant program several years ago, with several area schools involved in similar work. Windham is the only high school that still has the program, he said, which demonstrates the district’s commitment to helping students succeed. 

“School is not a one-size-fits-all system. It fits most but there is a group of students that need alternate pathways,” Rossetti said.  “RSU 14 lives by the motto “Success for all”. This is exemplified in the many ways the district support’s our high school programing. The Restorative learning program is one of several that are designed to support students that are struggling to find success.” 

Jill Tank and Dr. Leisl Johnson staff the RLP at the high school in a typical year. This year, due to COVID 19, the program isn’t functioning normally, so the two are providing academic support for students and coverage for staff who need to quarantine.  

In a regular year, students can enter the RLP when they have made a mistake that leads to suspension or expulsion.  Typical suspension or expulsion doesn’t result in repairing the damage or help keep students engaged academically.

If students are home, Rossetti said, they may continue making the poor decisions that led to those consequences. 

Time may also be spent in unproductive ways, like playing video games, Tank said. 

“They don’t play games in my class,” she said.

Expulsion isn’t the “old school” idea that once you’ve been asked to leave, you’re gone forever,
Rossetti said. 

What it means, instead, is that a student is removed from their program and enrolled in RLP to help them discover what they need to get back on track, he said. Once that hard work is completed, they have an opportunity to return and continue working towards graduation. 

Students enrolled in the RLP are picked up at their homes by a staff person in a district van. The program operates from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday.

Once at school, students spend their day with RLP staff keeping up with schoolwork and finding ways to repair the damage of their actions, such as reflective work around what prompted their choices or restorative letters to others impacted by their behavior. RLP staff coordinates with the teachers to determine the work that needs to be completed for each individual student.

The RLP is a different way to connect with students, Tank said.

This approach helps keep students on track academically and allows students to build important relationships. Typically, one to four students are participating in the program at a time.

“The success of many students is based on the relationships they form,” Rossetti said.  “The [RLP] staff do a great job building these relationships with students. Knowing that they have a place that is safe where they can be themselves and seek out advice helps foster success.”

Tank said the relationships formed is evident in the number of students who leave the RLP but continue to return to connect with the staff.

“The RLP Program provides students an opportunity to not only remain engaged academically and not fall behind, but form relationships with staff who are there for them even after they leave the program,” she said.

Although the pandemic has put a temporary stop to the program due to the challenges of this school year and transportation difficulties it remains one of many ways in which students can reach graduation in RSU 14. 

“There are many ways for students to be successful in RSU 14 and Windham High School that include not just RLP, but the Katahdin Program, JMG and the APEX program as well. I think that’s what makes us special and unique,” Tank said. <