His Story
Richard Ruffalo earned his B.A. in Biology Education from Montclair State College in 1973 and began teaching that year in Irvington, New Jersey, before moving to Belleville High School in 1974, where he taught biology and coached track, field, and cross country for the next two decades. He went on to complete an M.A. in Biology Education at Montclair State in 1978 and a Principal/Supervisor certification in 1983.
When he first began teaching, Ruffalo’s vision was already deteriorating from retinitis pigmentosa. Over the years that followed he lost his sight entirely, becoming totally blind roughly thirteen years before his induction. Rather than step back from the classroom or the coaching field, he built a second, extraordinary career as a world-class athlete, joining the U.S. Disabled Sports Team in 1984 and going on to set nine world records across javelin, shot put, discus, and powerlifting. He won a gold medal and set a world record in discus at the 1988 Paralympic Games in Seoul, Korea, and won medals at Paralympic and World Championship competitions in Barcelona, Assen, and Ottawa. He accumulated eighteen national titles, eight state titles against sighted competitors, and was named to the Athletic Advisory Committee for the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Organizing Committee as the blind athlete representative for all countries.
His honors piled up on both fronts of his life: Belleville High School Teacher of the Year, the New Jersey Governor’s Teacher Recognition Award, the Montclair State College Alumni Citation Award, Princeton University’s Distinguished Secondary School Teacher of the Year, New Jersey’s Blind Achiever of the Year, National UNICO Amateur Athlete of the Year, New Jersey’s Most Courageous Athlete of the Year, and induction into the Bloomfield, Belleville, and Italian-American Sports Halls of Fame — the first physically challenged athlete ever inducted into a national sports hall of fame. He was also inducted into Phi Delta Kappa, the educators’ honors fraternity, and featured on a WOR-TV special report on outstanding teachers.
Beyond the Classroom
Ruffalo served on Belleville High School’s Principal’s Advisory Committee and Principal’s Committee for Attendance Discipline, advised the Club for Allied Medical Professions, and for four separate years served as a cooperating teacher for student teachers. He helped set up speaker programs from technical schools and branches of the Armed Services for the school’s Electricity and Electronics classes, developed a Career Awareness Program, and introduced a peer biology tutoring program pairing stronger students with those who were struggling.
Nationally, he became a leading voice in disabled athletics: a board member and later committee chairman of the U.S. Association for Blind Athletes, National Spokesperson for the United States Organization for Disabled Athletes, National Spokesperson (alongside Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton) for the Second Wind Program supporting student athletes with disabilities, and a member of the selection committee for Nestlé’s Very Best Awards, chaired by 1976 Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner. He hosted a one-hour radio interview show on health and fitness, served as a clinician at weight-lifting and throwing clinics across the country, and was a sought-after motivational speaker at schools throughout his region — fulfilling every speaking request, by his own account, without ever missing instructional time with his students.
Philosophy Into Action
Ruffalo described his approach to teaching as “educational coaching” — treating his classroom like a team, each student an important player with an individual role, all of them working toward the same goal. He believed in finding each student’s individual “on switch,” the thing that would mask and overshadow their negatives, and in building self-confidence so students could focus on their positives both in and out of the classroom. He held that obstacles should never be viewed as stumbling blocks, but as stepping stones on the road to success.
That philosophy was inseparable from his own life. Having gone blind and been unable to read braille, he discovered he possessed a photographic memory and total auditory recall — hidden talents he shared openly with students to show them that they, too, had untapped abilities waiting to be discovered. He used humor, hyperbole, and vivid word pictures to make difficult biology concepts come to life, and motivating techniques like handing out phony hundred-dollar bills for a perfect test score.
“Conquering total blindness by tapping my human potential to overcome this condition hopefully will indelibly imprint in my students’ minds that by adapting to dramatic changes in life one can still be a success and typify excellence… I am living proof, as a teacher and role model, that in life there are no overachievers, there are only ‘underestimators.’ The secret to success as we journey through our book of life is never to stop when adversity strikes, but simply to keep turning pages because a better chapter lies ahead.”— from his essay, “Philosophy of Teaching”
In Her Own Words
“My eyes have dimmed to open up the eyes of others. With faith and determination, understanding one’s limitations may help to show people that they may achieve far beyond anyone’s expectations.”— from his essay, “Philosophy of Teaching”
“After going blind and being unable to read braille, I discovered I possessed hidden talents that I have since tapped such as a photographic memory and total auditory recall. Sharing these new discoveries with my students enables me to show them that they too have hidden talents yet to be discovered.”— from his essay, “In the Classroom”
“I use my blindness to my advantage since to me all students, regardless of their diversity, look the same and that is the way I treat them.”— from his essay, “Outside the Classroom”
What Others Said
“Since then Rich has become totally blind. But he has chosen to use his blindness as a tool to inspire and motivate children… His simple message is that ‘handicaps’ (a word Rich doesn’t like) are not insurmountable barriers, but rather hurdles that can propel us to new heights… In losing his own sight, Rich Ruffalo has helped improve the vision of countless students.”— Bruce Kemlitz, Science Department, Belleville High School
“In conclusion, some people see Mr. Ruffalo as a person who is blind. The students and staff at Belleville High School see Mr. Ruffalo as a person who is an inspiration to us all!”— Dr. Joseph Cirasole, Principal, Belleville High School
“Mr. Ruffalo is an outstanding individual. He lost his eyesight approximately 13 years ago and yet has never missed a beat in his delivery of instruction… His charisma and spirited personality amaze everyone who comes into contact with him. To quote a familiar phrase, ‘To know him is to love him.'”— Joseph P. Del Guercio, Principal & Parent
“Richard Ruffalo is many things to many people, but he is at his best as the ultimate motivator.”— Karen A. Fuccello, Supervisor, Department of Health, Physical Education and Athletics
“Richard is an extraordinary person, and one in whom I have great respect and admiration. It is totally without reservation that I endorse his candidacy for the National Teachers’ Hall of Fame.”— Michael A. Lally, Superintendent of Schools, Belleville Public Schools
“Rich Ruffalo is an Olympic hero. He is a standout teacher at Belleville High School and an inspiration to so many young men and women, as they shape their lives for the next 20 years… Richard Ruffalo is a Hall of Famer in both Belleville and Bloomfield High School. He is a Hall of Famer in life, too.”— Michael J. Lamberti, Former Student & Sports Editor, Belleville Times