Administrator's Page

Michael Pisseri - Principal

Michael Pisseri is the proud principal of Davenport Ridge Elementary School in Stamford, Connecticut. Davenport Ridge is part of the Stamford Public Schools, one of the largest urban districts in Connecticut. Mr. Pisseri has been the principal for 14 years. Prior to this, he was an assistant principal in the Norwalk Public Schools and a middle school teacher in the Westport and Stratford Public Schools. Mr. Pisseri has a passion for education and  STEM, specifically the notion that all children will need to compete and work in a global economy that focuses on higher order thinking skills, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving. While we are unsure what those jobs will be as many have not been created yet, research indicates that they will be STEM based careers. As principal, Mr. Pisseri has collaborated with several staff members, community partners and ongoing technologies to help the students grow not just as children, but as tomorrow’s leaders during their elementary school experience. Much of this work has been learned through his experiences and collaborations with the STEM Happens Network Forum as well as educational institutions such as Fairfield University and companies such as the General Electric and Sikorsky Technologies. 

Mr. Pisseri is a graduate of Fairfield University with a BA and a MAT. He is a graduate of Sacred Heart University with a CAS.

Melissa Fano-Dropick - Assistant Principal

Melissa Fano-Dropick is the assistant principal of Davenport Ridge Elementary School in Stamford, Connecticut. Davenport Ridge is part of the Stamford Public Schools, one of the largest urban districts in Connecticut. This is Ms. Fano’s second year as Assistant Principal at Davenport, and Ms. Fano’s 24th year as a Stamford Public School educator. Prior to her time at Davenport as Assistant Principal and Teacher Leader for Student Support, Ms Fano spent time at Stillmeadow Elementary School  and Rippowam MIddle School. 

Ms. Fano holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Central Connecticut State University,  A Master’s from University of St. Joseph in Special Education, A second Masters in Literacy from Sacred Heart University, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Administration from Sacred Heart. 

She holds the following certifications in the state of Connecticut:
265 -Special Education grades K-12
102- Remedial Reading and Language Arts grades 1-12
092 - Intermediate Administration or Supervision