Freeston To Retire

From Ridgefield Superintendency

RIDGEFIELD — Newtown resident Dr Kenneth Freeston is stepping down as after 13 years as a school superintendent.

“Next year will be my 35th year as an educator and my fifth year in Ridgefield,” Dr Freeston said  in a statement Tuesday, January 2. “Today I am announcing that I will retire from the Ridgefield Public Schools effective January 15, 2008.”

Dr Freeston joined Ridgefield after serving nine years as Region 9’s superintendent. Region 9 serves students in Redding, Easton, and Joel Barlow, the regional high school.

Prior to that, he was assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Newtown, from 1988 to 1994, and principal of Amity Regional Junior High School from 1983 to 1988.

He taught psychology and history in West Hartford from 1973 to 1983, and was the social studies department head there the last four of those years.

Dr Freeston was named Educational Leader of the Year by the Connecticut Chapter of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in 1997, and in 1999 by the University of Connecticut School of Education.

He has written articles for publications ranging from The New York Times to Education Week on topics of parenting, schooling, and the application of private sector business leadership to public sector education. He is the co-author the book Welcome to Club Dad: Mostly True Reflections on Fatherhood.

Dr Freeston lives in Newtown with his wife Cheryl and son David.