Ansonia schools recognized a long-time city educator Monday, when the district named its preschool facility after the late John J. Adzima Jr.
Adzima was a principal and administrator for Ansonia schools for more than 25 years, as well as a teacher and principal at Seymour schools.
He died on Jan. 1, 2012, when he was 77.
“John truly was about the children of Ansonia,” said State Rep. Linda Gentile, one of several dignitaries who spoke at a dedication ceremony Monday.
The district opened a new preschool at the Ansonia Middle School building on Howard Avenue in 2009.
About 100 preschool students attend the program, now called the John J. Adzima Jr. Preschool Academy.
Adzima grew up in Ansonia, and graduated from Ansonia High School. He became a teacher, and spent time at Seymour Middle School, and later as principal of Chatfield Elementary School in Seymour.
Adzima then served as principal of the former Larkin School in Ansonia, as well as Prendergast and Mead elementary schools.
Then he took a job in the Ansonia Central Office, working on instruction for grades K‑8, and as the coordinator for staff development, testing and other programs.
Adzima remained active in the school community after his retirement. He helped secure grants for the Redwing Pond House, a building at the Ansonia Nature Center where part of Ansonia’s preschool program was previously housed.
Colleagues and friends recalled Adzima as a staunch supporter of education, a man who impacted thousands of lives in Ansonia by fighting for better educational opportunities.
Former State Senator Gary Hale, who served from 1987 to 1993, said Adzima’s ​“quiet, hard work” enriched countless students’ lives.
Adzima advised Hale and other state officials on matters of educational policy — including a formula the state uses to hep pay for a portion of local school construction projects.
All the time, Adzima remained in the background, rarely allowing himself to be given credit for his work, Hale said.
“He was never around for recognition,” Hale said. ​“He refused to be out front.”