« Back to News List

ACES ECA Alumnus Rejoins Alma Mater as Department Chairperson

July 31st, 2019


(North Haven, CT – July 31, 2019) Saul Fussiner, an ACES Educational Center for the Arts (ECA) alumnus and former adjunct instructor, has chosen to return to ECA as full-time faculty chairperson. Fussiner takes over to direct ECA’s creative writing department, which is one of the flagship programs in the ECA curriculum.

“We asked our students what they value in a department chair, and they cited positivity, empathy, cleverness, and wit, as well as being well-educated, a published writer, and a creative thinker. Saul emerged from a large candidate pool because he embodies these traits,” said Leslie Abbatiello, ECA’s Principal and Director.“I am excited about the ways in which Saul’s expertise will complement our team and our endeavors as we write the next chapter of ECA together.”

With a Masters of Fine Arts in dramatic writing from New York University to complement his Connecticut certifications, Saul has the ideal combination of educator credentials and experience and is an active writer with deep connections to writers and artists in New Haven and nationally. Saul comes to ECA from New Haven Academy where he spent 13 years teaching humanities, history, and social justice. Saul was also an adjunct assistant professor at Hunter College/City University of New York.  Fussiner was on the teaching staff of “March of the Living.” The March of the Living is an annual educational program, which brings students from around the world to Poland, where they explore the remnants of the Holocaust.

In his spare time, Saul is a “live” storyteller who performs new stories almost every month at venues that include the Buttonwood Tree, the Institute Library, The Mark Twain House, and Guerilla Lit. His one-man show, I’ve Heard Those Drums All My Life, details his lifelong attraction to Ireland. Saul was a 2017 “Fund for Teachers” Fellow studying the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland. His produced screenplays include Follow Me Outside and Buddha’s Little Finger. Collaborating with Donal O’Hagan, he is the co-author of the plays Fathers Without Sons and A Whiff of Cordite. His personal essays have appeared in the New Haven Review and Iconoclast.  Additionally, he is the host of "Songs & Stories," the monthly storyteller and singer/songwriter series at Next Door on Humphrey Street in New Haven.

ACES Educational Center for the Arts' mission is to provide high school students with the experience of studying the fine arts with practicing professional artists, stimulating a life-long curiosity for learning and a passion for the arts. This iconic institution is nestled in the heart of New Haven’s Audubon Arts District and since 1973 has been a leader in fostering the education of emerging artists as they develop their unique voices. High school students from over twenty-five school districts attend ECA in the afternoon to study creative writing, dance, music, theatre and visual arts with professional artists.

About ACES:

Area Cooperative Educational Service’s (ACES) is to transform lives through education, innovation, and leadership. One of six Connecticut regional educational service centers, ACES is the regional educational services center for the twenty-five communities in New Haven and is both a school district and a non-profit services agency. ACES serves 2,300 students from fifty-seven communities throughout Connecticut at its three magnet schools and nine special education schools. ACES service divisions include international educational programs and services, technology, transportation, translation, behavior services and autism programs, extension therapy services (occupational and physical therapy), assistive technology, collaborative programs, professional development, human resources and financial services, and ACCESS, a vocational and life skills program for developmentally and physically challenged adults. ACES also runs the Open Choice program for New Haven County as well as a magnet school parent choice program for its Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School and Thomas Edison Middle School. Additionally, ACES runs the Middlesex County Early Head Start Partnership program. For additional information, go to www.aces.org.

« Back to News List