Dear Gordon community,

After twenty-five years of dedicated service, Buildings and Grounds Director Joe Almeida has let me know that this school year will be his last at Gordon School. After some deep thought and conversation with his family, Joe has decided that it is time to step into retirement and enjoy his favorite job, that of husband, father and grandfather. 

Joe has stewarded Gordon’s campus through a period of tremendous growth, and he has done it with the grace, thoughtfulness, and kindness that one would hope to find in the finest Gordon teacher or graduate. 

When Joe arrived at Gordon in 1999, the school was embarking on its largest building project since the 1960s. Since then, Joe has overseen construction that increased the school's square footage by 70%, including but not limited to the Joukowsky Family Library, a new wing of the Middle School, a total renovation of the Early Childhood wing, the Wales Theater, and the entire Nelson Center including the Britt Nelson Dining Hall, the Nelson Field House, two music classrooms and the Gators space. Along the way, he directed improvements in all of Gordon's outdoor spaces, including the construction of Engle Field, the Mann Family Early Childhood Playground and the Jeanne P. Picerne Playground. Seven residential properties were also added to Gordon's boundaries since he arrived, including the house that would become the head of school residence in 2018, all of which his team has meticulously maintained, inside and out.

Rodney and I owe Joe a personal debt of gratitude for the work he did to make our house on Gordon’s campus a home. From building our bannister by hand and selecting the perfect shade of blue for the exterior, to putting up the fence for a dog that arrived six years later, his love and care is felt throughout every square inch. I’m glad to know that for years to come, future heads of school will have a connection to Joe Almeida through 12 Martin Street.

Gordon’s campus is an expression of its identity and values, from the student-scale architecture that centers children to the outdoor spaces allowing for the joyful blending of play and learning that characterizes true progressive education. That connection has made Joe an essential part of the team delivering on Gordon's mission, year after year. 

For over two decades, he has kept Gordon's people at the center of his work, listening carefully to the needs and wishes of children and adults, and including them in the process as he addressed their requests. Joe can step out of a meeting about a five-year facilities plan and seamlessly head to a third grade classroom to lead a conversation about newly laid duck eggs, leaving both grown-ups and children confident that he has heard them and taken them seriously. His own quiet sense of playfulness finds its way into his work regularly, and is on display in little touches like the skylight he built over the bell tower and the edible blueberry bushes scattered across campus. 

Behind the scenes, Joe’s hard work, coordination and attention to detail have ensured that Gordon’s major events remain mission aligned. For our annual theater productions, he listened keenly to the needs of the director, cast and crew and then got to work designing a stage that would be safe, playful and, without fail, supportive of the vision for the production. At graduation—probably one of his favorite events of the year—Joe coordinates tents, chairs, staging, audio visual and traffic control with thoughtful precision, not to put on a good show, but to ensure that our eighth graders can be at the center of this momentous occasion. 

One measure of Joe's leadership is the strength of the team he leads. After twenty-five years, turnover in his department has been low enough that I can count the number of facilities staff we’ve had in his time on one hand. When asked what he would like to share with the Gordon community, it’s not surprising that Joe focused on relationships, team and community:

Gordon has been my second home for the past twenty-five years. It is a part of my extended family. I feel appreciated working here, and the friendships that I have made over the years will not be forgotten. 

You can get so much more done working with someone instead of for them, and I appreciate the close relationship with my maintenance staff: Rob Howard, Joe Machado. Martha Baker, Dave Melo and Sara McEntee–by far the best team around. How much they have done for Gordon and for me, I could never forget. I’m grateful to my boss Tom Cicatiello who believed in me and gave me the opportunity that I have been so lucky to have. And I can’t forget Carmen, who was always willing to help with office work. I think she sensed from day one that it was not my forte! 

It has been a pleasure to know faculty, staff, leadership and anyone who has touched my life over at Gordon over these past twenty-five years, past and present. I can’t thank everyone enough.

We are blessed to be a part of Joe’s family, and blessed that Joe shared his family with us. While his son Brian was too old to attend Gordon when Joe arrived at Maxfield Avenue, Megan was part of the Class of 2005 and Adam graduated in 2009. We are happy to return him, now, to those three, to his grandchildren Madison, Abigail, Charlotte, and Benjamin, and to his devoted wife Maggie who shared:

Joe is looking forward to spending more time with his family and pursuing personal interests. We have a bucket list of travel destinations we hope to explore together! Although leaving behind his routine will be challenging, it is now time for Joe to relax and enjoy life outside of work.

We couldn’t agree more and are grateful to the Almeida family for sharing Joe with us over the past quarter century.

After conversations with Joe about how to best recognize and celebrate his service to Gordon, those who know him will not be surprised to hear that he has expressed a wish for a more personal and less public farewell. We are developing an interactive tribute to Joe that will be grounded in the relationships he formed with all of us and the transformative impact that he has had on this campus. I promise that everyone will have an opportunity to participate in the planned tribute. I will share more soon.

Until then, please join me in congratulating Joe Almeida and thanking him for the indelible legacy he leaves as he bids farewell to our beloved community.

With deep gratitude and appreciation,