Marathoner Tapped To Be
New Stockbridge Principal
By Sandy Vondrasek

Michelle Ricci is the new principal at the Stockbridge Central School.

April brought "an incredible couple of weeks" for Michele Ricci of Stockbridge. On April 14, she was hired as Stockbridge Central School’s next principal, and one week later she was running in her first Boston Marathon.

"Plus, the snow has melted and spring is here," she said, in a recent interview with The Herald.

Ricci, an experienced runner and educator, moved to Stockbridge from Alaska, just one year ago with her husband, Stefan.

A school guidance counselor for 10 years, nine of them at a school in Juno, Alaska, Ricci recently earned her masters in educational leadership at the University of Alaska in Anchorage.

Ricci, 38, said she and her husband decided to make the big move east after he was accepted at Vermont Law School. They found and bought a home in Gaysville. Stefan, a Vermont native, is completing his first year as a law student.

This past year, Ricci worked four days a week at Thetford Elementary School, as a counselor, and served one day a week as Stockbridge Central School’s librarian.

Earlier this year, on learning that SCS Principal Pam Neff was resigning, Ricci applied for the position.

Her selection was formally announced by the Stockbridge School Board last week.

"It was a very competitive search process but ultimately the search committee was really impressed with Ms. Ricci's enthusiasm and optimism," said Board Chair Shari McLaughlin. "Besides her education and experience, of course, we felt those two qualities really made her stand out and would help our school community flourish.

"It's never easy when a committed, trusted principal like Pam Neff decides to retire," added McLaughlin. "But we're looking forward to the future with Ms. Ricci.

"And since she's been working as our librarian for the last year, she's already really comfortable with the parents, students, faculty, and staff as well as our school culture, which will make the transition a little easier."

Ricci, who worked for nine years in an Alaskan school with 300 students, is looking forward to working in a small school.

Small schools traditionally benefit from strong community support, and Stockbridge clearly fits that mold, Ricci said.

Ricci believes that "we can all learn from one another, regardless of age," and that the inter-connectedness of a small community supports that kind of learning.

Marathon

This winter, while working and interviewing for a new position, Ricci was training to run her sixth marathon, and her first in Boston.

Although Ricci was disappointed with her four-hour run, the Boston Marathon, itself, was "fabulous."

Ricci was aiming for 3:40 run, but she was knocked off form by a bout with the flu just before the race.

"It was the biggest marathon I’ve ever done," Ricci noted. "The crowd control was just phenomenal, from buses to bag checks, to streets being closed, to support along the way."

That support included cheering crowds the length of the 26-mile course, Ricci said.

Among the crowd was Ricci’s mom, "a big supporter," who flew in from Washington state for the marathon.