Riverdale Welcomes New Head of Upper School Mr. Velez
This coming 2023-2024 school year, Riverdale will welcome a new Head of Upper School, Michael Velez. For nearly 20 years, Mr. Velez has worked at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut as an administrator who has taught U.S. History, World History, Macroeconomics, and American Literature while being a DEIB committee member and the football, hockey, and lacrosse coach. Outside of the classroom, Senior Ava Maha, current student body president of Choate, said that he “pushed to pass student initiatives, pulled ideas out of his archives, and brought an empathetic listening ear to our conversations.”
Mr. Velez expressed his excitement to work at Riverdale and was attracted to the school’s “mission and values,” which he believes are personified within the student body. He also loves “all the opportunities Riverdale has to offer outside of the traditional classroom to learn and grow.” Reflecting on his goals for his tenure as Head of Upper School, Mr. Velez emphasized “building community within community” so “students feel known on an individual level.” Another key way he hopes to promote community is by improving the student experience when transferring from middle to high school, making students feel instantly included and a part of the high school community.
His goals stretch beyond the Hill Campus, as he is eager to integrate helping the Bronx community into the “fabric” of Riverdale. Mr. Velez wants to do this not just through individual student volunteering, but the school community as a whole connecting with the Bronx community. One way to achieve this would be to make the Riverdale campus open to kids and programs in the Bronx. Mr. Velez feels that “being engaged, whether coaching a team, advising a club, or teaching a class is important,” and he plans to do all of these things while at Riverdale. He aims to make involvement with different co-curricular activities and community service work a priority. Eventually, he hopes to reach the point where he “is going from office to classroom to a sport to a student event,” like he has been doing at Choate for the past 19 years. He’s not making the trip to Riverdale alone: his daughter, too, looks for- ward to joining the Riverdale community and experiencing life in New York City.
Mr. Velez’s ideas and goals were not just focused on improving the school from an institutional perspective. Rather, Mr. Velez will emphasize improving the school through a “student-centered focus and mindset.” Mr. Velez’s hope of fostering a strong community— within Riverdale via DEIB, high school community events, and school sports and outside of River- dale via service learning initiatives, community service within Bronx neighborhoods especially, and sharing Riverdale’s resources—will help build stronger character among the student body as they are exposed to a diversity of thought. With the notable departures of Head of School Mr. Randolph, Assistant Head of School Ms. Nicholson-Flynn, and Head of Upper School Mr. Taylor, it is clear that Mr. Velez will have to hit the ground running. Through our conversation, we are confident that he will!
