When Rocco Fuschetto became Ignacio School District superintendent, he aimed to put his longtime philosophy into action: Leave it better than you found it.

Eleven years and many professional commendations later, Fuschetto retired knowing he accomplished that goal.

Fuschetto took the district’s helm in 2010 with three assignments: improve the curriculum, fix the district’s facilities and build stakeholder relationships. In May 2021, Fuschetto received the 2020 Colorado Demont Award: a recognition of the difference he made in the district.

“He worked very hard at always putting the kids first, which I think is very important. He led with a strong hand,” said Chris deKay, who took on the role of superintendent in June. “There are many times when that can be the right style of leadership.”

During his 49-year career, Fuschetto was a foreign language teacher, an assistant principal and a principal before he became a superintendent in eastern Colorado. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and French education, a master’s degree in Spanish and French, and a doctorate in educational leadership.

In 2010, Fuschetto inherited a school district that was struggling with academic performance. At the time, it received the state’s “turnaround” rating, which meant it was one of the lowest performing districts in the state.

Fuschetto and the district team worked steadily to meet state performance criteria, and by the most recent report in 2019, the district had moved to “improvement,” two levels higher on the state’s five-level rating system.

“We’re still trying to improve the curriculum ... you never stop doing that,” Fuschetto said.

On facilities, Fuschetto led the district’s effort to secure a $50 million bond to rebuild school buildings and district facilities.

“The bond was approved in a very conservative community and the difficulty in convincing the public to approve this bond issue cannot be overstated,” said Brian Crane, Ignacio technology director, in a Demont Award recommendation letter. “This could not have been accomplished without (Fuschetto’s) leadership, his vision, his efforts to build relationships within the community.”

He also led the district as it searched for new ways to engage and invest in community relationships.

The district began having community dinners, public concerts and a weekly radio show, Crane said.

Fuschetto appointed La Titia Taylor, Southern Ute Indian Tribe director of education, to the district administrative team. The school board and Tribal Council began to meet each year.

He successfully worked with the tribe and Colorado Department of Education on making the Ute language a recognized foreign language credit.

“He has collaborated with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and has built a professional relationship that was long overdue,” Taylor said in her Demont Award recommendation letter. “There is now an intergovernmental agreement that outlines our collaboration. It is a model that school districts near reservations do not have.”

Both Fuschetto and deKay said the district’s next steps were to focus on improving educational and academic growth.

“That’s where we invest a lot of time and energy building bridges with the stakeholders and improving systems within the school itself, so each kid can learn to their maximum potential,” deKay said.

At the end of his decadeslong career, the town of Ignacio declared May 28 as Rocco Fuschetto Day. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe held a ceremony recognizing Fuschetto’s work. Staff members helped organize a surprise presentation of the Demont Award to Fuschetto and a retirement luncheon on his last day, May 27.

Post-retirement, Fuschetto plans to jump back into the classroom. He is already teaching at Adams State University and hopes to take on a class at Fort Lewis College.

Retirement also means more time for family, camping and gardening, he said.

Looking back, he said his main goal was to help the district grow so students and staff members could have the tools they needed to thrive.

“We need to provide what these kids need to be successful,” Fuschetto said.

smullane@durangoherald.com