Giovanni Virgiglio

Can school superintendents every truly say they understand what it’s like to be a student today? After all, it’s been so long since they’ve had the experience themselves.

Unless maybe we’re talking about Giovanni Virgiglio, who was Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Albany Diocese when he enrolled in the Educational Leadership program at Sage’s Esteves School of Education. (He is now in a leadership position at the New York State Education Department.) 

“It’s been extremely engaging and purposeful,” Virgiglio said. “The assignments, the group projects, the classroom interactions, it’s all been relevant and timely for me in my role as a system leader.”

Over the years, he often found himself telling others that, “we need to nourish ourselves professionally.” By enrolling in the Sage program, he said, that’s exactly what he did. He made himself better able to serve the 5,000 students and 500 teachers in Albany’s Catholic schools.

“I’m responsible for helping to materialize our shared vision and determine the direction we take, which are pretty high stakes,” he says. “I need to have access to the best of the best, and this program is doing that for me.”

Virgiglio says he waited years to go back to school for his Ed.D., and he feels certain, in Sage, he picked the right place.

“There’s a shared philosophy,” he said. “These are challenging, changing times, and navigating change is never easy. But people come first. Clearly, this program believes this, as do I.”

Virgiglio has nothing but praise for his Sage professors. “They walk the talk,” he said. “They understand the world of education, and they share the practical applications of what’s being taught, from their breadth and depth of experience.”

The hallmark of the program, in Virgiglio’s view, is learning from the collective experiences of others in the program. And for someone with 5,000 students to look out for, that’s mightily important.