Q&A with Paul Selvidio

Paul Selvidio has worn many different hats at Community School of Naples (CSN). He’s taught, he’s coached, and he’s managed finances as the CFO. Last summer, Selvidio took on yet another role: head of school. “CSN has been on a tremendous trajectory for 45 years,” he says. “My mission is to elevate, accelerate, and amplify that trajectory.”

CSN encourages students to be well-rounded, offering a plethora of artistic and athletic endeavors alongside rigorous academics. “It’s not uncommon to see somebody that’s competing in a robotics competition but also playing baseball,” says Selvidio.

Naples Illustrated spoke with him about what separates CSN from other schools along the Gulf, technology in the classroom, and what makes CSN students so special. 

NI: At what point did you know you were destined for a career in the field of education?

Selvidio: The school didn’t have a CFO for some time. It lacked a true operations manager, and so I took my experience in public accounting, working with a variety of clients across a variety of industries, and came here as the CFO and COO. In just a few short weeks, I grew to love the school. I realized how important Community School was to Naples.

The four core pillars at the school are citizenship, leadership, scholarship, and stewardship. Why those four?

Those core values are paramount to the whole person that we want to develop and that we want to send off into the world to represent our school, their families, and our entire community.

We live in a constantly changing world, especially with regard to technology. What place do computers, tablets, and smart devices have in school?

The workforce requiries [individuals] to use technology anywhere, everywhere, and as much as possible to be as efficient and as productive as possible. You can’t wait to learn to interact with those technologies or those devices until your first day at work. Technology must be integrated into the classroom. You can’t run away from it. You can’t ignore it. But, we have to be sensitive, and we have to educate our parents and our students on the appropriate uses of technology.

What differentiates CSN from other schools in the region?

Everybody [at CSN] has taken education extremely seriously; it’s an important component of their life. They’re investing a great deal to be here. It’s mentally taxing; it is a college preparatory environment. You’re surrounding yourself with a cohort of parents and students that are like-minded, that are mission-driven, that all take education seriously. They want to maximize every opportunity that comes to prepare themselves for the next stage of life.

In what ways have the students impressed you during your time at Community School?

I am always impressed by the ability of our students to feel comfortable speaking and interacting with adults from a very young age. I’m also impressed with their courage to explore new areas and with the level of maturity each of our students [has] across every age group.   

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