Dr. Joseph Raiola began as Principal of Bassick High School at the start of the 2018 – 2019 school year.  Prior, he served as an Assistant Principal at Warren Harding High School, Department Head at Bullard Havens Technical High School and Technology Education Teacher at Shelton High School.  Dr. Raiola has a focus on student engagement, instructional rigor and college and career readiness.   Since arriving in Bassick, the school has made strides to become a top urban comprehensive high school; he continues to lead this work daily.  Dr. Raiola is dedicated to the Bridgeport community and prides himself on being accessible with his open-door policy. 

Dr. Raiola completed the Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) executive leadership program Superintendent Certification, a Ph.D. in Technology Management from Indiana State University, a Sixth year in Educational Leadership from Southern Connecticut State University, a Master of Science in Technology Education from CCSU and a Bachelor’s of Science in Industrial Technology from CCSU.  He became a certified teacher in 2004 after completing the State of Connecticut Alternate Route to Teacher Certification, prior to this he was employed as a Construction Project Engineer.

His research and professional interests focus on organizational change, diffusion of innovation, employment skills and competencies for STEM careers and howto best support underrepresented populations in STEM careers.  He has served as a conference presenter for the American Society of Engineering Education, Associated Schools of Construction and June Baker Higgins conference.