SAUGUS — The courtyard at Saugus High School was dedicated to former principal Ken Fabrizio at a ceremony Saturday afternoon, honoring the man who spent nearly four decades with the town’s public schools, and 17 years as the high school’s principal.
Fabrizio worked in Saugus Public Schools from 1963 to 2002, with town, school, and state officials all praising his tireless service to the town at the ceremony. Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano called Fabrizio a “great man” and said the honor was “well deserved.”
State Reps. Donald Wong (R-Saugus) and Jessica Giannino (D-Revere) each presented Fabrizio with a citation from the state. Giannino called the Saturday afternoon event a “beautiful ceremony.”
The plaque denoting the courtyard as the “Kenneth A. Fabrizio Courtyard” reads, “Fabrizio earned a well-deserved reputation as a kind, caring, and respectful educator and mentor.”
“In recognition of his unwavering dedication to public education, his support of countless young people, and his great optimism and positivity that this courtyard is named in his honor,” the plaque reads.
In addition to Cogliano, Wong, and Giannino, the event was attended by the other four members of the Board of Selectmen, Town Manager Scott Crabtree, as well as School Committee Chair Vincent Serino and Vice Chair John Hatch.
The idea to dedicate the courtyard to Fabrizio came from retired Superintendent of North Reading Public Schools Jon Bernard, a Saugus High School alum to whom Fabrizio served as a mentor, said Serino. Bernard brought his proposal before the School Committee in August, where it won approval.
Serino, himself an alum of Saugus High School, said when Bernard approached the committee with the idea of dedicating the courtyard to Fabrizio he thought it was a “great idea.”
“He was a mentor to a lot of teachers that came after him,” Serino said in an interview Sunday. “A lot of the teachers that are there [at the High School] now … he was a mentor to them.”
The event was “well attended” by former students, Serino said, adding that the plaque is “beautiful.”
The dedication is part of a broader effort to bring history and tradition into the new middle/high school complex, said Serino. That effort includes hanging athletic banners, getting the hall of fame plaques up, and recognizing previous state champion sports teams.
Serino said school officials want students to “see what the past was like.”
