Tenure ends for Worcester school safety chief Pezzella, but not service to community

WORCESTER — When School Safety Director Robert F. Pezzella walks out of the Durkin Administration Building on March 31, it will mark the end of his 25 ½-year career in the Worcester Public Schools district.

But for Pezzella, retirement does not mark the end of his time working in the community — instead it means more time for new opportunities and a chance to make impacts in other ways.

“I'm a public servant, always been a public servant. I wasn't meant to work much in the private sector, so I want to continue to help others,” Pezzella said. “I think I was given a gift to try to have a positive impact on people's lives, and I want to continue that when leaving here.”

Born and raised in Worcester and a graduate of North High School, Pezzella’s career took several turns before he landed in the school district in 1997.

He worked, among other jobs, as a health teacher, for substance-abuse agencies, and for the Department of Children and Family, which was then known as the Department of Social Services.

Like other members of his family, who have been very active in local and state politics — including his brother who worked for Michael Dukakis when he was governor of Massachusetts and his father who was involved with City Council races  — Pezzella eventually found himself working for then-mayor Raymond V. Mariano as his chief aide.

He was not new to politics, having worked on various political campaigns, including Ted Kennedy's bid for president. But when the position of school safety liaison opened up in 1997 while working for Mariano, Pezzella threw his hat in the ring.

With a background in human services, Pezzella became interested in a change in career direction after learning about the role. He managed to land the job that would eventually evolve into his current role of school safety director.

Since then, he has not only been trying to keep students safe in school but also creating programs and services to keep them out of trouble outside of school.

Safety centers established

One of his proudest accomplishments, he said, was establishing safety centers in the district, which provided a place for students to approach school leaders if there were concerns about possible violence or trouble in schools, or get help with resolving issues they may be experiencing.

“After Columbine, principals were feeling very powerless, because students were making threats, and what can we do to not shake it off as ‘This isn’t a threat, the kid just had a bad day,’ “ Pezzella said. “That they wanted more support, so the safety center was developed so we can have a threat protocol put in place that even carries on to today.”

When a concern about a possible threat or violence is brought to the safety center, school leaders report that threat to the Worcester Police Department, which investigates and determines the severity of the threat.

“A lot of the threats are because of immaturity and impulse control issues and kids having very difficult times with their peers,” Pezzella said. “The safety center is meant to follow through on those threats and put them in a remediation-type place, like the safety center, to work on their anger-management issues or other issues.”

He said that the safety centers help prevent violence from occurring and provide students an alternative from being suspended or expelled and having their futures disrupted.

Turn it Around drug ed program

That was kept in mind when developing the Turn it Around drug education program, another one of his greatest accomplishments from his time in the district, he said.

Students who were in possession or were found to be using substances like alcohol or drugs would spend multiple days in the drug education program learning about the dangers of the substances and how it could impact their health and future.

Now 37 years sober, Pezzella’s past struggles with a drug addiction also helped shape the way he developed these programs, he said.

“As a teenager, I started to get involved in socially using drugs, and it progressed later on in my life to where I became once again addicted,” he said. “I had some tumultuous years in my teenage years and young adulthood, and I knew that you can go very easily astray when you're in high school, so that was definitely tied into I wanted to give back with the leverage of being the school safety liaison at the time and the development of programs.”

Chief Steven Sargent with the Worcester Police Department said that the department valued the strong partnership it developed with Pezzella over the years.

“His collaborative efforts and can-do attitude built a safe and supportive environment for students,” Sargent said. “I am grateful for all of his contributions to the students, community and Worcester Police Department. We wish him the best in his retirement.”

Former superintendent Maureen Binienda, who retired last year and is now the superintendent of the Quaboag Regional Public School district, said Pezzella’s retirement will be a “great loss” for the district.

Binienda said she and Pezzella’s working relationship stretched back to when she was the assistant principal at South High Community School.

“We worked together to establish positive relationships with students, so that they would live up to the expectations that we had for safe behavior,” she said. “We would establish relationships with parents and agencies together so that we would be able to call them to support families and students, especially in disciplinary hearings.”

She said that some of her favorite memories of working with Pezzella in those meetings, trying to help families through disciplinary issues and coming up with a solution to help meet the students’ needs.

“Even though they had to face the consequences of the behavior, we still wanted to have positive relationships with the students and the families,” Binienda said.

Having recently retired from the district herself, Binienda said Pezzella has much to look forward to as she wouldn’t have been able to take the job in Quaboag if she hadn’t retired from the district.

“Retirement is an opportunity to use your skills again, in maybe the same way or other ways,” she said.

Second chance at redemption, recovery

Like he did during his time in schools with students, Pezzella is looking to help people find a second chance at redemption and recovery.

While working in the district, Pezzella helped found the Yes to Recovery nonprofit, which helps people connect with resources to seek treatment and recovery from substance abuse. And upon retirement, he plans to put more time and focus into running the organization.

“Right now we’re in an epidemic with drugs,” he said. “We are trying to send a message out there in the community that you can recover from drug addiction, and you don't have to die from that deadly disease.”

He also plans to reenter politics, not running as a candidate but in more of a behind-the-scenes role. Although, there is interest in joining a city charter commission if one were to launch, he said.

“My brother was on the first charter commission the city had back in 1986,” he said. “That would be something I would like to see. Should we stay in this form of government, which is the planning form of government? Do we look for change? Because I know the city of Worcester demographics are drastically changing before our eyes.”

But while Pezzella is looking forward to the future, he said there are some aspects of the school safety director role that he is going to miss.

“I am immersed in this community, and every day, even after hours, if I went by a school and then I saw someone in the schoolyard that shouldn't have been there, I would stop and I would question that person,” he said. “I was kind of always looking for the interests of the schools.”

He said he is also going to miss interacting with colleagues and networking everyday, and finding ways to resolve issues through the relationships he has been able to build over his multidecade career.

Deciding to retire came with a “heavy heart,” but with the desire to make an impact in the community in a different way, as well as the toll from the COVID-19 pandemic, Pezzella said he knew it was time to pass the torch onto someone else.

“I was assigned to be the co-coordinator for COVID for the district, so for three years, I have been taking calls from staff who are COVID-19 positive,” he said. “That took a toll on me.”

While it was meaningful for him to work in the city that he was born, raised and educated in throughout his career, one thing Pezzella wishes he could have done differently was work in a “broader capacity.”

“In my profession, I was offered jobs to go work in the Statehouse for the previous governor administrations,” he said. “It was convenient for me to stay locally, but I wish I was able to work in a greater capacity.”

Despite this, Pezzella said that this has been the most rewarding job he has ever had.

“I've been able to do a lot of good in my job,” he said. “I'm walking out next Friday with no regrets, and look forward to staying active in the community.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester Public Schools safety director Robert Pezzella to retire