Prior to the founding of CSSR, Joe served for nearly a decade as director of the Secondary School Redesign program of the Education Alliance at Brown University, where he was instrumental in maintaining the university’s leadership role in the national conversation about redesigning high schools. At Brown, Joe oversaw the design, development and implementation of numerous research and technical assistance projects promoting high school redesign. Much of his effort went into the development of the Breaking Ranks Process of comprehensive high school reform, which has been implemented in over 40 schools across the country.

From 2002 through 2005, Joe served as chair of the steering committee of the National High School Alliance.  He served as co-chair of the National Task Force on the High School and the Breaking Ranks 2 Commission of NASSP.  In this role, Joe directed the creation of Breaking Ranks 2: Strategies for Leading High School Reform.  He also served on both the National Urban Task Force and the Breaking Ranks in the Middle Commission of NASSP, and is currently serving on the strategic advisory board of the.News at MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. 

Joe’s efforts to promote policy reforms that can lead to high school redesign include supporting Rhode Island’s statewide high school reform efforts. This work includes the creation of a statewide vision of a 21st century high school and the development of both an assessment system and the provision of technical supports to districts implementing the newly mandated graduation requirements. Joe also supported statewide high school reform efforts in Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire. He provided leadership and research support to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges’ Commission on Public Secondary Schools in the development of standards for high school accreditation of nearly 700 high schools throughout the region.

Joe is first and foremost a parent, often stating that he has learned much more from his children, including the four that were adopted from outside the United States, than he could ever hope to teach them. His children are a diverse bunch including two biological children, two Asians, and two Latin Americans. Three of the adoptees joined the DiMartino family when they were between six and twelve years of age. It is through the lens of their experiences that Joe became devoted to working with and advocating for the educational opportunities afforded to diverse adolescents in a variety of settings. Whether involving a playing field, classroom, or vocational placement, Joe has worked to insure that individual youth have a voice in their education.  He has utilized his role as parent, coach, mentor, and advocate to get to know hundreds of adolescents and his passion for connecting with them continues. 

Joe earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Brown University, a Master’s in Education from Rhode Island College and has completed all the coursework for a Doctor of Philosophy in Culturally Responsive Education from Brown University. He is an adjunct faculty member at Rhode Island College where he has taught High School Personalization.

Joe DiMartino is founder and president of the Center for Secondary School Redesign, Inc. (CSSR).  Under his leadership CSSR has become a leading provider of ground breaking technical assistance to support both policy change and change leadership at the district and school level leading to a richer secondary school experience for all youth. He co-authored, with John Clarke, the highly acclaimed book, Personalizing the High School Experience for Each Student,

that was published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) in April 2008.  He also consulted with ASCD in the creation of the video series, High Schools at Work: Creating Student-Centered Learning and also co-wrote accompanying facilitators guide.  Primarily because of his leadership in the development of Breaking Ranks 2 and his contributions to Breaking Ranks in the Middle, Joe was given the distinguished Service to Education Award by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) in 2006. He was named a DiFelice Scholar by Salem State College in Salem, Massachusetts, in 2007. Prior to the founding of CSSR, Joe served for nearly a decade as director of the Secondary School Redesign program of the Education Alliance at Brown University, where he was instrumental in maintaining the university’s leadership role in the national conversation about redesigning high schools. At Brown, Joe oversaw the design, development and implementation of numerous research and technical assistance projects promoting high school redesign. Much of his effort went into the development of the Breaking Ranks Process of comprehensive high school reform, which has been implemented in over 40 schools across the country. From 2002 through 2005, Joe served as chair of the steering committee of the National High School Alliance.  He served as co-chair of the National Task Force on the High School and the Breaking Ranks 2 Commission of NASSP.  In this role, Joe directed the creation of Breaking Ranks 2: Strategies for Leading High School Reform.  He also served on both the National Urban Task Force and the Breaking Ranks in the Middle Commission of NASSP, and is currently serving on the strategic advisory board of the.News at MacNeil/Lehrer Productions.  Joe’s efforts to promote policy reforms that can lead to high school redesign include supporting Rhode Island’s statewide high school reform efforts. This work includes the creation of a statewide vision of a 21st century high school and the development of both an assessment system and the provision of technical supports to districts implementing the newly mandated graduation requirements. Joe also supported statewide high school reform efforts in Maine, Connecticut, Vermont, and New Hampshire. He provided leadership and research support to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges’ Commission on Public Secondary Schools in the development of standards for high school accreditation of nearly 700 high schools throughout the region. Joe is first and foremost a parent, often stating that he has learned much more from his children, including the four that were adopted from outside the United States, than he could ever hope to teach them. His children are a diverse bunch including two biological children, two Asians, and two Latin Americans. Three of the adoptees joined the DiMartino family when they were between six and twelve years of age. It is through the lens of their experiences that Joe became devoted to working with and advocating for the educational opportunities afforded to diverse adolescents in a variety of settings. Whether involving a playing field, classroom, or vocational placement, Joe has worked to insure that individual youth have a voice in their education.  He has utilized his role as parent, coach, mentor, and advocate to get to know hundreds of adolescents and his passion for connecting with them continues.  Joe earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Brown University, a Master’s in Education from Rhode Island College and has completed all the coursework for a Doctor of Philosophy in Culturally Responsive Education from Brown University. He is an adjunct faculty member at Rhode Island College where he has taught High School Personalization.